WASHINGTON — Florida’s Republican senators have introduced legislation to prohibit the use of federal funds for distributing pipes, something the White House disputes was ever on the table as part of a drug harm reduction program.
The Cutting off Rampant Access to Crack Kits (CRACK) Act is a response to a Monday report from the conservative Washington Free Beacon that alleged that money from a $30-million grant program could be used to fund the distribution of “crack pipes,” a claim that has been repeatedly rejected by the Biden administration and fact checkers after it sparked furor among conservative lawmakers and pundits.
A Department of Health and Human Services document outlining the grant program lists safe smoking kits as one of the approved items that organizations can purchase with the grants of up to $400,000, along with infectious disease testing kits and syringes.
