How many milligrams are in one dram?

Approximately 1,771.85 milligrams. One avoirdupois dram is about 1.77185 grams, and each gram is 1,000 milligrams, giving about 1,772 milligrams per dram.

Is the dram still used anywhere?

The avoirdupois dram is nearly extinct. It occasionally appears in American shotgun ammunition specifications (powder charges in drams) and in some traditional cooking references. For all practical pharmaceutical and scientific purposes, the milligram has replaced it.

Why is this conversion approximate?

Because the dram is defined in the avoirdupois system (1/16 of an ounce, or 27.34375 grains) while the milligram is metric. The grain-to-gram bridge (1 grain = 0.06479891 grams) produces a non-terminating decimal.

Milligrams to Drams (mg to dr) Converter

1 mg = 0.0006 dr

1 Milligram equals 0.0006 Drams (1 mg = 0.0006 dr). Convert Milligrams to Drams with formula, table, and examples.

One milligram equals approximately 0.0005644 drams, or about 5.644 times 10^-4 drams. The milligram at one thousandth of a gram is the universal pharmaceutical unit, while the avoirdupois dram at about 1.772 grams is an obsolescent Imperial unit once used for spices and small goods. About 1,772 milligrams make one dram.

How to Convert Milligrams to Drams

dr = mg × 0.0005643834

Multiply the value in Milligrams by 0.0005643834

Take your value in Milligrams
Multiply by 0.0005643834
Read the result in Drams

Common Milligrams to Drams Conversions

Milligrams (mg)	Drams (dr)	Status
10 mg	0.00564383 dr
50 mg	0.02821917 dr
100 mg	0.05643834 dr
250 mg	0.14109585 dr
500 mg	0.2821917 dr
1,000 mg	0.56438339 dr
2,500 mg	1.41095848 dr
5,000 mg	2.82191696 dr
10,000 mg	5.64383391 dr
50,000 mg	28.21916956 dr
100,000 mg	56.43833912 dr
500,000 mg	282.1916956 dr

Good to Know About Milligrams to Drams Conversion

The dram and the milligram are grandmother and grandchild in the family of pharmaceutical weight units. The dram measured medicines for centuries - apothecaries weighed their compounds in drams on brass beam balances. The milligram inherited this role in the 20th century, bringing decimal precision to a task that had relied on manual skill and approximate measures. The transition was gradual and peaceful - unlike many measurement reforms, the replacement of drams by milligrams caused no riots, no resistance, and no nostalgia. The milligram was simply better at the same job.

Milligrams to Drams: What You Need to Know

This conversion crosses from the metric pharmaceutical world to the historical avoirdupois system. The dram was once used in cooking and apothecary measurement but has been almost entirely replaced by the gram and milligram. The conversion is useful for interpreting historical recipes and pharmaceutical records that used drams.

What is a Milligram? mg

A metric unit of mass equal to one thousandth of a gram, or one millionth of a kilogram. Commonly used in medicine and pharmacology.

Metric medicine pharmacology nutrition

Learn more about Milligram →

What is a Dram? dr

A dram (avoirdupois) is a unit of mass equal to 1/16 of an ounce or 1/256 of a pound (1.7718451953125 grams). Historically used in pharmacy and old cooking recipes.

Imperial historical pharmacy old recipes whisky measurement

Learn more about Dram →

Going the other way? Use our Drams to Milligrams converter.

Milligrams to Drams FAQ

Approximately 1,771.85 milligrams. One avoirdupois dram is about 1.77185 grams, and each gram is 1,000 milligrams, giving about 1,772 milligrams per dram.
The avoirdupois dram is nearly extinct. It occasionally appears in American shotgun ammunition specifications (powder charges in drams) and in some traditional cooking references. For all practical pharmaceutical and scientific purposes, the milligram has replaced it.
Because the dram is defined in the avoirdupois system (1/16 of an ounce, or 27.34375 grains) while the milligram is metric. The grain-to-gram bridge (1 grain = 0.06479891 grams) produces a non-terminating decimal.

Non-Frequently Asked Questions About Milligrams to Drams

Questions nobody should ask - but someone did.

About 3,544 milligrams or 3.544 grams. That is roughly three-quarters of a teaspoon of ground cinnamon - a reasonable amount for a Victorian-era spice cake. Historical recipes in drams translate to sensible modern quantities, which is reassuring evidence that Victorian cooks knew what they were doing.
In a sense. The dram served the apothecary and spice trades for centuries before the milligram existed. The milligram inherited the dram's role of measuring small, valuable quantities with precision. The dram retired gracefully in the 20th century, replaced by a metric unit that does everything it did but with decimal simplicity.
At 325 milligrams per tablet, one dram (1,772 mg) equals about 5.45 aspirin tablets. A dram of aspirin was actually a common historical dose - physicians in the 19th century prescribed aspirin-like compounds (salicylates) in dram quantities. The dosing has barely changed in 150 years; only the units have evolved.