PRICE OF ADDICTION

The demand is high, so prices are, too.

Windsor police said opiates such as hydromorphone, morphine and oxycodone are worth about $1 per milligram on the street. One fentanyl pill sells for around $40. Fentanyl powder is worth $400 per gram. A 100 microgram fentanyl patch also goes for around $400.

In contrast, one Essex County pharmacist said the actual cost of a one-milligram hydromorphone pill at a pharmacy is about 10 cents. But there are dispensing fees on top of that. Someone buying 100 hydromorphone pills at a pharmacy would pay about $20 with the dispensing fee. Morphine would cost about the same.

A 20 mg tablet of oxycodone is about $6.50 at a pharmacy. With the dispensing fee it’s around $10. A single 100 microgram fentanyl patch would go for about $20 at a pharmacy.