Some Republicans are getting their star-spangled undies in a bunch after recent reports claimed that the Biden administration is using our taxpayer dollars to fund crackpipes. Yes, you heard correctly. That’s the phrasing some conservatives are using to describe what is actually a crucial push in public health that we’ve needed for quite a while. Biden’s new harm reduction program aims to prevent deaths at a time when more than 100,000 Americans are dying from drug overdoses each year — most of them accidental.
Last month, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) received $30 million for a grant program that will fund the distribution of fentanyl testing kits, HIV prevention services, opioid reversal medication, syringe exchanges and “safe smoking supplies” around the country. After an article prematurely reported that the grant would distribute crack pipes, Republicans began a crusade against it.
