“Crackpipe-gate” (as it’s facetiously been dubbed) has taken another twist or three. You’ll remember that the Washington Free Beacon reported that $30 million allocated by the Biden Administration was going to include “smoking kits” to make smoking crack and other illicit substances more sanitary for addicts, and that the kits include crack pipes. The White House denied that it was supplying free crack pipes.
Now, the Washington Post reports that the Free Beacon reporter who wrote the story said the HHS spokesperson did not specifically say that the kits would include crack pipes, but he did confirm that the kits were for smoking crack, and based on what’s included in such kits around the country, they reported that the government would be funding crack pipes.
That's a point for the White House's side. But even WaPo admitted that it’s unclear what HHS’ intentions were, since the story ran before the kits were created.
Now, here’s another twist: Jeff Charles at Redstate.com reports that Biden is under fire now for denying that he plans to give out free crack pipes (and no, not from his son Hunter.) A nonprofit group called the Drug Policy Alliance that seeks “alternatives to strict laws” in aiding addicts, is angry because it was under the impression that the Administration did intend to include crack pipes in the kits. A spokesman fumed, “It would seem pointless to distribute these kits without” pipes, which “are the main part of the smoking kit to prevent the transmission of disease.”
(Although I feel I should mention that they are the main part of transmitting crack, which is arguably worse than disease.)
And another twist: The Free Beacon fired back that the HHS spokesman told them that they do “not specify what is in the kits, leaving that detail to program participants at the local level.” And we know some local programs have given out free crack pipes.
As to the question of whether Biden’s HHS planned to give away taxpayer-funded crack pipes to addicts, it’s not clear whether they did or didn’t. There don’t seem to be any strong denials, though, that they wanted to give away syringes. So either way, they’re using our tax money to help addicts keep using crack and heroin in the name of “compassion and public health.” I don’t think they understand what either of those terms means.
Permalink: https://www.mikehuckabee.com/2022/2/crackpipe-gate
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