--- title: Trump Drugs Are Cheap as Candy Internet Reactions description: Twitter can't get enough of Donald Trump's assertion in a news conference that drugs are becoming cheaper than candy bars. canonical: https://time.com/4673878/trump-drugs-cheaper-than-candy/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-16T20:25:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T07:17:24.989Z og:title: The Internet Went Nuts When Trump Compared Drugs to Candy Bars og:description: The internet can't stop laughing about it og:url: https://time.com/4673878/trump-drugs-cheaper-than-candy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt11dbb9d521a85014/6988babaf887dcdba4e991b8/donald-trump21.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: President Trump Holds News Conference In East Room Of White House og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Internet Went Nuts When Trump Compared Drugs to Candy Bars twitter:description: The internet can't stop laughing about it twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt11dbb9d521a85014/6988babaf887dcdba4e991b8/donald-trump21.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Internet Went Nuts When Trump Said 'Drugs Are Becoming Cheaper Than Candy Bars' > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=fe52a837-96d2-42db-ac17-c540abd1c723&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Watch Trump's Trumpiest Comments From That Press Conference [Watch (HLS stream): Watch Trump's Trumpiest Comments From That Press Conference](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/pq1mKHYq.m3u8) (1:40)  _Published 2017-02-16. President Trump held a loose, combative press conference that touched on his views on Russia, the first weeks of his Administration and his views on the media._  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Feb 16, 2017 8:25 PM UTC President Trump held a loose, combative press conference that touched on his views on Russia, the first weeks of his Administration and his views on the media.  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Feb 16, 2017 8:25 PM UTC In [a press conference Thursday](http://time.com/4673707/donald-trump-press-conference-news-media/?xid=homepage), President Donald Trump touched on the important matter of narcotics use in the U.S., calling America a “drug-infested nation.” “We’ve ordered the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice to coordinate on a plan to destroy criminal cartels coming into the United States with drugs. We’re becoming a drug-infested nation. Drugs are becoming cheaper than candy bars,” he said to illustrate his point. This is not the first time Trump has used candy to make a statement this week, previously [comparing intelligence leaks to candy](http://time.com/4671700/trump-candy-internet-reactions/). And it’s also not the first time that Twitter has had a field day with his particular choice of words as it tends to do with these things, collectively scratching its head over this comparison. He may have been exaggerating as [RehabCenter network](http://www.rehabcenter.net/the-average-cost-of-illegal-drugs-on-the-street/) points out, the average cost of marijuana is actually $15 per gram, heroin is $15-20 per dose, and cocaine and methamphetamines are over $80 per gram. A Snickers, meanwhile, will run you [$0.89 at Target.](http://www.target.com/p/snickers-candy-bar-2-07-oz/-/A-13055565) > [](https://twitter.com/YourRapsHere/status/832317446413549569) > [](https://twitter.com/stpete2you/status/832292539218685952) > [](https://twitter.com/BenjaminJS/status/832292854730940416) > [](https://twitter.com/DPTomDavidson/status/832291314079301636) > [](https://twitter.com/Trxppybasshead/status/832316601680687104) > [](https://twitter.com/chalkboardsband/status/832316391172747265) > [](https://twitter.com/LeighNYC%5FLaura/status/832316286747209728) > [](https://twitter.com/nasty%5Fcanasta/status/832316046237327360) > [](https://twitter.com/cozyhalf/status/832316981302980613) ## Transcript [00:00] As you know, our administration inherited many problems [00:04] across government and across the economy. To be honest, [00:10] I inherited a mess, it's a mess. At [00:16] home and abroad, a mess. I turned on the TV, opened the [00:20] newspapers. And I see stories of chaos. Chaos, yet [00:25] it is the exact opposite this administration [00:30] is running like a fine- tuned machine. We; re becoming [00:35] a drug infested nation. Drugs are becoming [00:40] cheaper that candy bars. We're not gonna let it happen any [00:44] longer. Are you going to include the Congressional Black [00:47] Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus? Well I [00:48] would. I tell you what, do you want to set up the meeting? [00:50] Do you want to set up the meeting Are they friend of yours? [00:52] No, no, no, I'm just a reporter. No, set up the meeting. [00:55] Number one, I am the least anti- Semitic [01:00] person that you've ever seen in your entire life Number [01:04] two, racism, the least racist person. You mentioned the [01:08] vessel, the spy vessel, off the coast of the United States. [01:10] Not good. I was given that information. I don't know. I was [01:12] just given. I own nothing in Russia. I have no loans [01:17] in Russia. I don't have any deals in Russia. The whole [01:21] Russian thing, that's a ruse. It's a ruse. Hillary Clinton did a [01:24] reset, remember? With the stupid plastic button that made [01:27] us look like a bunch of jerks. I watch CNN, it's so much [01:31] anger and hatred and just the hatred. The leaks [01:35] are absolutely real. The news is fake because so much of [01:39] the news is fake. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4673878/trump-drugs-cheaper-than-candy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4673878/trump-drugs-cheaper-than-candy/"},"headline":"The Internet Went Nuts When Trump Said 'Drugs Are Becoming Cheaper Than Candy Bars'","datePublished":"2017-02-16T20:25:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-07T07:17:24.989Z","description":"Twitter can't get enough of Donald Trump's assertion in a news conference that drugs are becoming cheaper than candy bars.","url":"https://time.com/4673878/trump-drugs-cheaper-than-candy/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","Donald Trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt11dbb9d521a85014/6988babaf887dcdba4e991b8/donald-trump21.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt11dbb9d521a85014/6988babaf887dcdba4e991b8/donald-trump21.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Trump Holds News Conference In East Room Of White House","caption":"President Trump Holds News Conference In East Room Of White House","creditText":"Mark Wilson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4673878/trump-drugs-cheaper-than-candy/","name":"The Internet Went Nuts When Trump Said 'Drugs Are Becoming Cheaper Than Candy Bars'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Watch Trump's Trumpiest Comments From That Press Conference","description":"President Trump held a loose, combative press conference that touched on his views on Russia, the first weeks of his Administration and his views on the media.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/pq1mKHYq/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-02-16T21:50:19.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/pq1mKHYq.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4673878/trump-drugs-cheaper-than-candy/","duration":"PT1M40S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4673878/trump-drugs-cheaper-than-candy/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```