Morphine Street Prices & Prescription Costs

Morphine is an opiate that relieves moderate to severe pain and can ease chronic pain. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) classifies morphine as a Schedule II controlled substance because of its high potential for abuse, addiction, and physical dependence. 

However, that doesn’t stop people from diverting the drug from pharmacies or making morphine to sell on the street.

The street value of morphine can vary greatly depending on several factors. It’s usually cheaper to get a prescription and use a pharmacy for morphine, but people who abuse it can’t always legitimately get it as much as they want. 

Brand names for morphine include MS Contin, MorphaBond ER, and Arymo ER. These brands are all extended-release formulations. Immediate-release (IR) morphine isn’t currently available in the United States—all IR versions have been discontinued. 

Generic versions of morphine are likely available at a lower cost.

Morphine Street Prices & Cost Factors

Morphine street prices average from $0.30 to $0.45 per milligram (mg), but prices differ greatly. 

Street price data from a crowdsourcing site reports that in two weeks during June 2022, people from around the US bought morphine extended-release pills for $0.02 to $0.67 per mg. That’s $0.60 for a 30 mg pill (in Oregon) and $10 for a 15 mg pill (in Colorado).

The cost of morphine on the street can be affected by location, quantity, and authenticity.

Location

Morphine tends to cost less in bigger cities where there’s more demand, more supply, and more competition. It can be harder to get a good supply or customer base in rural areas, which drives up the price per pill.

Authenticity

Some of the morphine on the street comes from pharmacies—from people who get prescriptions they don’t need so they can sell them. Those pills are high quality because they’re regulated. 

A lot of street morphine is made by illicit drug manufacturers who use pill presses at their homes or clandestine laboratories. These pills often contain cutting agents to stretch the supply and increase profit margins.

Impure versions of morphine can be sold at a cheaper price, so you should be wary if the cost is too low. 

Quantity

Buying a single morphine pill on the street can be expensive. Some drug dealers lower the cost if you buy in bulk because it’s more guaranteed money and may encourage you to come back to them for more.

Morphine Prescription Cost

The cost of a morphine prescription can also vary depending on the pharmacy you use. The average prescription price is $30 to $65 for a 60-day supply of 15 mg generic morphine pills. That’s only $0.03 to $0.07 per mg. And that’s without using insurance or cost-saving programs.

Many health insurance providers cover some or all of the cost of a morphine prescription, though it may be for a limited time. (Morphine is generally recommended for short-term use.) You may have a small copay at the time of pickup.

What If You Don’t Have Insurance?

If you can’t afford health insurance, Medicaid may be available at little to no cost to you. Medicaid programs cover the cost of many necessary drugs completely or with a few dollars copay.

Discount programs, such as GoodRx, SingleCare, and WebMDRx offer coupons for generic morphine prescriptions that lower the cost significantly. 

For example, with GoodRx you can get a 60-day supply of 15 mg morphine pills for:

• $19.17 at Walgreens
• $18.48 at CVS
• $17.34 at Rite Aid

That’s $10 to $45 off the retail price based on the average morphine cost across the US.

Some online pharmacies may offer better prices, but many of them are unregistered and part of the black market. You can’t be sure what you’re getting if it’s not from a registered pharmacist.

Dangers Of Buying Morphine On The Street

Buying morphine on the street doesn’t just come with a higher price tag—it’s dangerous.

Cutting Agents

Cutting agents in morphine might be baby laxatives, laundry soap, or talcum powder. These substances can irritate your digestive system, cause an allergic reaction, or produce unexpected side effects. They’re not meant to be ingested. 

Fentanyl

Street morphine may also be cut with cheaper drugs, like fentanyl. Fentanyl is a potent opioid. A tiny bit of it produces an intense high, so a little bit goes a long way. It only takes a small amount to overdose, too. 

Fentanyl has been involved in the majority of opioid overdoses for the last decade. Many people don’t know their morphine (or other opioids) are laced with fentanyl, and they overdose because they aren’t expecting it to be so potent.  

Because street morphine that’s laced with fentanyl is unregulated, one pill may contain more fentanyl than another. You might take adulterated morphine one day and be fine, but the next day a pill from the same batch could kill you.

The same risks come with buying synthetic opioid analgesics (pain relievers) on the street, such as:

• hydrocodone (Vicodin)
• oxycodone (Percocet, OxyContin)
• hydromorphone (Dilaudid)
• oxymorphone (Opana)
• tramadol (Ultram, ConZip)

Morphine Abuse & Addiction

The only reason to buy morphine on the street is that you can’t get it legitimately from a pharmacy with a doctor’s prescription. That means you probably shouldn’t be taking it. 

Morphine is a highly addictive opioid that changes the way your brain feels pain. It causes euphoria and a sense of calm that adds to its desirability for abuse. Substance abuse alters your brain structure so you crave the drug and your body relies on it to function. 

If you or a loved one are struggling with morphine abuse, now is the time to ask for help. A morphine addiction treatment program can restore your health and relationships. 

At Ohio Recovery Center, we offer inpatient healthcare and mental health therapy for opioid addiction. Our treatment options include detox, medication-assisted treatment (MAT), and behavioral therapy. 

Reach out to us today to learn more and start your recovery.