How much crack does a gram of cocaine yield? How many hits, rather.^I'm only aware of one or two researchers ever attempting to measure this in the field. The figures I recall were 16-20 hits per gram (based on 4-5 per 1/4 batch of cooked crack) for relatively novice, moderate users. The benefit of cooking their own crack (especially in small batches), for those users, was that it greatly slowed the pace of smoking, which, as bennoculus and others point out, is what makes it seem so compulsive (smoking ready-rock with a supply present, individual users can consume multiple grams per hour). Such practical details aren't what we usually think about when considering the dangers (or not) of a drug, but they are often what matters. Likewise, the practice of "booting" dope (repeatedly drawing blood in and out of the syringe/registering over-and-over) greatly exacerbates the HIV risk among homeless heroin users sharing needles.
