Cannabis Indica

Smoking so much weed that answers about production start to come to mind on their own, but only when you're high

Purchase of a pretty neat bong - lab tech produces drugs high, which makes them work slower, but also less efficient

Buying a lifetime supply of energizers, as it would be useful to work faster, after all (and some weed to start up)

Cannabis Sativa

Gaining knowledge of operating equipment specialized in growing sativa weed (and buying weed, it is impossible to work sober)

Analysing and reorganization of structure, resulting in increasing the quality of work and reducing worker pay (jk)

Acquiring knowledge on how to swing a machete fast so that lab tech can collect sativa tops faster

Mushrooms

A few weeks mushrooming trip with grandpa (yet the trip is actually a badtrip, and your buddy's pal is nicknamed Grandpa)

Studying all the available folktales about an ancient blue men's village that is made solely from mushrooms

Wilderness sojourn with local pellars and whispesses, gaining secret knowledge on how to nourish yourself with the sunlight and grow mushrooms in a more effective way

Opium

Peaceful and undisturbed harvesting of wild poppies in the hills of Isla Sombra under the guidance of qualified junkies

Funding "College Trails" club and pub tour, delving into the darkest corners of the human mind and opium smoking

Receiving a PhD in opium brewing and casting curses at Voodoo Vodka University

Amphetamine

Meeting a bus driver who not only cooks speed, but while being stoned tried to take off his bus into the sky while on the job

Purchasing or borrowing all phenylethylamine related books available on Isla Sombra

Participating in the racing championship in "speeding in flip-flops" against Isla Sombra champion - Indigo the Hedgehog

Methamphetamine

Watching 10 seasons of the world-famous TV series on meth cooking (and taking notes, you don't pay your lab tech for slacking off after all)

Training with Mr. Mietek, who has mastered the technique of efficient meth cooking to perfection (or at least he thinks so)

Achieving a scientific degree in the field of meth cooking and meth smoking

Cocaine

Purchasing a library card and reading all the newspapers covering Columbia's history between 1949 and 1993

Expedition to the wilds of coca nature to learn the healing properties of coca leaves

Getting training from Mexican specialists in having a jolly good time and a heavyweight drinking

LSD

Attending a party where you hear a very long and boring story on the badtrip your pal had, so you decide to produce LSD yourself to just shut him

Acquiring and reading all available articles on the harmfulness of not doing drugs at the workplace

Discovering the river of hot chocolate and sailing downstream to the rhythms of industrial metal

🌿 Start with Cannabis

Cannabis Indica has the cheapest entry point at $250K for Low Tech. It's the most cost-effective way to get your lab tech started with passive production.

📈 Prioritize Profit Margins

Cocaine and LSD are the most expensive to unlock but yield the highest profits. Save these for late-game when you have capital to spare.

🔗 Unlock Requirements

Each tier requires a specific GROUP unlock. You need to progress through the drug's production chain before higher tiers become visible in the upgrade menu.

🍄 Budget Mushrooms Path

Mushrooms offer the second cheapest total investment at $1.8M. Combined with low starting materials cost, they're a great early-mid game automation target.

🧪 LSD Bonus Recipes

LSD is unique — each tier unlocks 2 recipes instead of 1 (including component recipes). This makes it extra valuable despite the high cost.

💸 Total Investment: $21.55M

Fully upgrading all 8 drug types across all 3 tiers costs $21,550,000. This is a massive late-game investment but enables full automation of your drug empire.