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Correction Notice: The Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) has confirmed that federal funds for harm reduction programs for drug addicts will not provide safe smoking kits that contain crack pipes. Secretary Xavier Becerra issued a statement February 9, 2022 ruling out any use of funds for crack pipes. You can read more from Lead Stories here.
Despite a shocking report that claimed the Biden administration will soon be using taxpayer dollars to fund the distribution of crack pipes to drug addicts, Biden official Xavier Becerra confirmed this will not happen.
The purpose of the $30 million grant program is to help “underserved communities” with “advancing racial equity,” according to the Washington Free Beacon.
The plan is part of the Department of Health and Human Services’ fiscal year 2022 Harm Reduction Program Grant program.
Reports initially alleged that the crack pipe plan is a dispersion of federal government funds for the slightly more anodyne “smoking kits/supplies.”
A spokesman for the department initially told the Washington Free Beacon that the grant money will provide “safer pipes” for drug addicts to use when they smoke crack cocaine, crystal methamphetamine, or “any illicit substance.”
These pipes were meant to reduce users’ chances of becoming infected. However, Secretary Xavier Becerra corrected the spokesman and claims the plan will not be happening.
Glass pipes, on the other hand, can sometimes lead to infection through cuts and sores.
It’s unclear why a spokesman for the department contradicted comments made by Secretary Xavier Becerra. The reports note that Biden’s son Hunter is a longtime user of crack cocaine.
More from The Washington Free Beacon:
HHS said the kits aim to reduce the risk of infection when smoking substances with glass pipes, which can lead to infections through cuts and sores. Applicants for the grants are prioritized if they treat a majority of “underserved communities,” including African Americans and “LGBTQ+ persons,” as established under President Joe Biden’s executive order on “advancing racial equity.”
Democratic-run cities such as San Francisco and Seattle have distributed smoking kits to residents. Some local governments, however, have in recent years backed away from their smoking kit programs over concerns they enable drug abuse. Louisville, Ky., for example, allowed convenience stores to sell smoking kits but later banned them. Legislators in Maryland ditched their distribution plan after facing backlash from local law enforcement and African-American leaders.
Sgt. Clyde Boatwright, president of the Maryland Fraternal Order of Police, said government resources are better spent on preventing drug abuse rather than making it safer.
“If we look at more of a preventive campaign as opposed to an enabling campaign, I think it will offer an opportunity to have safer communities with fewer people who are dependable on these substances,” Boatwright told the Free Beacon.
Funding for the “harm reduction” grant program is provided through Democrats’ American Rescue Plan, which the Senate passed along party lines after Vice President Kamala Harris cast a tie-breaking vote. Other equipment that qualifies for funding include syringes, vaccinations, disease screenings, condoms, and fentanyl strips. The grant program will last three years and includes 25 awards of up to $400,000.
