The Cocaine Index

What is The Cocaine Index?

The Cocaine Index is a crowdsourced data project tracking the street price of cocaine across UK local authorities. By collecting price data from the public, we aim to build the first publicly accessible dataset of its kind — showing geographical and temporal trends in drug market pricing.

Why does this project exist?

Despite significant public interest in drug policy, harm reduction, and criminal justice, there is no publicly available dataset tracking cocaine prices at a local authority level in the UK. Existing data is either:

• National averages only (e.g. the Independent Drug Expert Alliance's annual price guides)
• Not publicly released (police forces and the National Crime Agency collate local prices internally)
• Academic and one-off (individual research studies, not continuously updated)

This project fills that gap with open, transparent, community-contributed data.

Where does the data come from?

The dataset combines two sources:

• Seed data — Historical price mentions scraped from public Reddit discussions on subreddits such as r/cocaine, r/drugs, and r/uktrees. Each data point links back to its original source for verification.
• Crowdsourced submissions — Anonymous price reports submitted directly through this website by members of the public.

How are prices collected from Reddit?

We use an automated scraper that searches public Reddit posts and comments for mentions of UK cocaine prices. A parser then extracts the price (£), quantity (grams, ounces, etc.), and any location references. Each extracted data point includes a link to the original post so it can be verified.

The parser filters for cocaine-specific mentions and calculates a standardised price per gram to allow comparison across different quantities and locations.

How accurate is the data?

Honestly? It varies. This is a crowdsourced project, not a scientifically rigorous survey. Key limitations:

• Reddit data is self-reported and unverified — people may exaggerate, misremember, or fabricate prices
• Sample sizes are uneven — some areas have many data points, others have none
• Prices fluctuate over time — a price from 2022 may not reflect today's market
• The parser may misinterpret some price mentions (e.g. discussing a price in a different context)
• Crowdsourced submissions have the same risks of inaccuracy or deliberate misinformation

Each data point has a confidence score (0–1) reflecting how reliably it was extracted. We recommend treating the data as indicative of broad trends rather than precise figures.

What is the confidence score?

Every data point is assigned a confidence score between 0 and 1 based on:

• Whether a specific price was found (vs. a vague range)
• Whether a quantity was detected (e.g. "per gram")
• Whether a precise UK location was identified
• Whether the surrounding text clearly relates to a cocaine transaction

Higher scores indicate more reliable data points.

How is price per gram calculated?

When a price and quantity are both detected, we divide the total price by the quantity in grams. Common quantities and their gram equivalents:

• 1 gram = 1g
• Half gram = 0.5g
• Eight ball = 3.5g
• Quarter ounce = 7g
• Half ounce = 14g
• Ounce = 28.35g

When no quantity is specified but the price falls within a typical per-gram range (£10–£80), we assume it represents a single gram.

What about privacy?

All submissions are completely anonymous. We do not collect:

• Names, email addresses, or phone numbers
• IP addresses (only a hashed identifier for rate-limiting)
• Any personally identifiable information

The submission form asks only for: local authority, price, quantity, date, optional quality rating, and optional notes.

Is this legal?

The Cocaine Index is a data collection and research project. It does not facilitate drug transactions, connect buyers with sellers, or provide advice on obtaining illegal substances. It collects and displays publicly available information about market prices, similar to economic indices or consumer price tracking.

Discussing or reporting on drug prices is not illegal in the UK. The project is intended for research, journalism, harm reduction, and public policy purposes.

What can this data be used for?

• Academic research — drug market analysis, price elasticity, regional inequality
• Data journalism — investigations, visualisations, trend reporting
• Harm reduction — understanding market dynamics that affect drug-related harm
• Public policy — evidence-based drug policy discussions
• Correlation studies — comparing price data with crime rates, deprivation indices, treatment admissions, and other datasets

Can I access the raw data?

Yes. The full dataset is available as JSON and can be accessed via the Data tab. The source code, scraper, and parser are also available. This is an open and transparent project.

How often is the data updated?

The seed data from Reddit is periodically refreshed. Crowdsourced submissions appear in real-time once the database backend is connected. During the current beta phase, submissions are collected but may not appear on the site immediately.

Who runs this project?

The Cocaine Index is an independent data journalism and research project. It is not affiliated with law enforcement, government agencies, or any drug-related organisation.

How can I contribute?

Submit anonymous price data through the Submit tab. Every data point helps build a more complete picture of the UK drug market. You can also share this project with others who may have data to contribute.