WASHINGTON (WTVO) — The Biden administration is creating a $30 million grant program for non-profits to buy crack pipes and other drug paraphernalia in an effort to limit infections among drug users.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) program will provide funds to local governments and non-profits to distribute clean pipes to help make drug use safer for addicts, according to a report from Newsweek. The deadline for applications was Feb 7.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said it will supply smoking kits for users to smoke illicit substances such as crystal methamphetamine and crack cocaine. The kits reportedly aim to reduce the risk of infections for people who smoke these substances with glass pipes.
The crack pipes are just one of 20 items on SAMHSA’s grant application to non-profits, including condoms and syringes.
The program is part of a harm-reduction initiative to prevent the spread of infectious diseases in underserved communities impacted by substance abuse disorders, as outlined in Biden’s executive order, issued January 20th, 2021, which instructed: “the Federal Government should pursue a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all, including people of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality.”
Selling or distributing drug paraphernalia is against federal law, unless authorized by the government. Funding for the program comes from Democrat’s American Rescue Plan.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) expressed “grave concerns” over the program in a letter Tuesday to SAMHSA Secretary Xavier Becerra, saying, “Government-funded drug paraphernalia is a slap in the face to the communities and first responders fighting against drugs flowing into our country from a wide-open southern border. If this is the president’s plan to address drug abuse, our nation is in serious trouble.”
An HHS spokesperson later told FOX News “The Harm Reduction Grant offered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and authorized by the American Rescue Plan is a grant program designed to help Americans who are struggling with substance use stay healthy and safe, prevent overdose death, and find pathways into evidence-based treatments.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: The article has been updated to provide additional context.
