Biden Sets Low Bar for People Wanting to Get High

Will the Biden Administration be using taxpayer dollars to give crack pipes to drug users? Let’s hope not!

News of the government’s notice soliciting applications for “harm reduction” grants stirred controversy after the Washington Free Beacon reported that the White House – through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) – “is set to fund the distribution of crack pipes to drug addicts as part of its plan to advance ‘racial equity.’”

This led to days of harsh criticism from Senator Marco Rubio and others, and scalding memes about federal dollars being doled out to local governments and nonprofit groups for the apparent distribution of illicit drug paraphernalia.

“If Biden and Pelosi are such devout Catholics, why aren’t they passing out free rosary beads instead of crack and meth pipes?” asked Project 21 member Emery McClendon.

Concerns are well-placed. The grants include payment for “smoking kits” and the supplies for them. While this is a federal program, it’s relevant to note that smoking kits do contain pipes in cities including San Francisco and Seattle. And a pipe would seem pretty essential to a smoking kit that classifies supplies separately.

Adding to the concern about these grants is that priority for the dispersal of smoking kits is given to “underserved communities.” These were previously defined by a Biden executive order as concentrations of “Black, Latino and Indigenous and Native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other persons of color; members of religious minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) persons; persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.”

Richard Holt

“Free crack pipes? Liberals must be on drugs to think this is a good idea,” said Project 21 member Richard Holt. “It’s not enough to use Planned Parenthood to exterminate black people? Now there’s the potential for free crack pipes? Is marching black people into gas chambers next?”

Two days after the federal grantmaking program began making news, the Biden Administration sought to clear the air. Claiming his agency was “focused on using our resources smartly to reduce harm and save lives.” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra repudiated an HHS spokesman who told the Beacon that smoking kits “provide pipes for users to smoke crack cocaine, crystal methamphetamine and ‘any illicit substance.’” Becerra pledged that no funding, “directly or through subsequent reimbursement,” would now go to pipes.

AK Kamara

“Crazy and hyperbolic as it sounds, this is a true story,” commented Project 21 member AK Kamara. “It bugs me because people with this mentality think that these people can’t do any better. Instead of trying to push them to be better, you give into their worst nature and give them ‘harm reduction.’ It really is sad that you would think so little of people to give them exactly what they want to destroy their lives.”

Funding for this program came from Biden’s “American Rescue Plan” that was passed in the U.S. Senate by a party-line vote. Senator Rubio has suggested that he will introduce legislation to specifically prohibit crack pipes in any federally-subsidized smoking kits.



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