Despite drug overdoses recently hitting a record high in America, causing them to be the leading cause of death in those aged 18–45 for the first time in history, the Biden administration is using taxpayer funds to facilitate illicit drug use by providing America’s drug addicts with drug paraphernalia. As part of the Biden administration’s new “Harm Reduction Program,” the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will soon distribute $30 million to state and local governments, non-profit organizations, and behavioral health organizations to purchase supplies and equipment such as “syringes” and “safe smoking kits/supplies” with the stated purpose of supporting “community-based overdose prevention programs, syringe service programs, and other harm reduction services.” Payments will begin to be disbursed in May, with $10 million allocated for the program on an annual basis for the next three years.
Additionally, the Biden administration is currently “evaluating” the approval of so-called “safe injection sites” where individuals are able to go and use illegal drugs under the supervision of staffers, who are there to supply the users with paraphernalia and attempt to help them if they show signs of overdose. According to a statement from the Department of Justice on February 4th, “Although we cannot comment on pending litigation, the Department is evaluating supervised consumption sites, including discussions with state and local regulators about appropriate guardrails for such sites, as part of an overall approach to harm reduction and public safety.”
It should be noted that steps have already been taken to place “supervised consumption sites” in liberal cities across America. For example, the Democrat stronghold of New York City opened two “supervised injection sites” in November. Criminal drug users are able to go to these locations and receive government assistance to consume their contraband. This means that taxpayers in New York City are funding the illicit drug habits of addicts, and now all Americans are footing the bill for this disastrous policy that most voters vehemently disagree with. What is the point of a law if the government has designated an area where it can be broken? Moreover, why is the Biden administration more concerned about ensuring illegal drugs are consumed safely than squashing the use of said substances and reducing the cost of legal and life-saving prescription drugs? The American people deserve answers to each of these questions. Sadly, the Biden administration is unlikely to provide any.
The Biden administration’s consideration of “supervised consumption sites” and the launch of a $30 million grant program that provides funds for syringes and safe smoking kits stands in stark contrast to the position that former President Donald Trump’s administration took on the issue. Back in 2018, the Department of Justice released a statement claiming that the proposal to launch four new “safe injection sites” in New York City was “utterly incompatible with the appropriate government response to the opioid epidemic.” Additionally, Trump’s Justice Department was successful in suing against a proposed plan to open “safe injection sites” in the city of Philadelphia. According to the ruling, “supervised consumption sites” violate the Controlled Substances Act due to the fact that they maintain a location for the facilitation of illegal drug use. To quote the ruling from U.S. Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas, “Congress has made it a crime to open a property to others to use drugs.” Since Congress has not changed the law that this ruling was based on, the Biden administration’s attempt to support a similar policy across the nation should soon be struck down as well.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki recently attempted to justify the unfathomable program by assuring Americans that “crack pipes” would not be included in the kits. Instead, Psaki admits that the grant will be used to give individuals “clean syringes,” as if that is somehow better. According to Psaki, “This program, though, is focused on harm reduction strategies, including prioritizing the use of fentanyl test strips and clean syringes…we don’t support federal funding, direct or indirect, for pipes.” Psaki should never have needed to clarify whether it would be crack pipes or syringes that are purchased with millions of dollars in taxpayer funds since taxpayer funds should never be used for either item.
As a result of the revelations, Republicans in Congress introduced the “Halting the Use of Narcotics Through Effective Recovery (HUNTER) Act” on Friday. If passed, the bill would “prohibit the use of federal funds to purchase, or support the purchase of, drug paraphernalia.” To quote Republican Rep. Dan Bishop, the bill’s sponsor, “The HUNTER Act is a means of encapsulating how ridiculous public policy can become when it’s in the hands of the woke.”
The solution to America’s illegal drug crisis is not the federal government supporting a place to consume illicit drugs, and it certainly will not help to give users drug paraphernalia such as “syringes” or “safe smoking kits/supplies” either. Instead, the Biden administration should be focused on blocking the imports of illicit drugs into America from across the southern border as opposed to promoting the “safe” use of illegal drugs.
