What would have been in those "safe smoking" kits the Biden Administration wanted to hand out?

Many articles coming from news sources on the Right are saying the White House wanted to give away free crackpipes to drug addicts.

Many members on the Left in this forum are claiming this is just "fake news", that they were never going to give out crackpipes.

The question comes down to: What exactly would have been in those "safe smoking" kits the Biden Administration was planning on handing out?

I did a little bit of research.

Microsoft Word - HANDOUT_Safer Smoking Supplies_FNL_18dec2018 (interiorhealth.ca)

" HARM REDUCTION SUPPLIES - Safer Smoking Supplies

Why provide safer smoking supplies? Sharing smoking equipment can put people at risk for HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C through burns and cuts that may result from smoking.

Glass stem (pyrex) (crack pipe)10mm - used to smoke crack a safer alternative to pipes made of plastic, pop cans or copper which can release toxic fumes when heated or burned. More durable and safer than thin glass pipes made from light bulbs or syringes, which can break easily and lead to cuts.

Meth Pipe: preferred by people who use crystal meth due to the bubble at the end. Provision of meth pipes reduces the use of harmful homemade pipes that may produce toxic fumes or the use of glass stems blown into a thin bubble pipe that may break or shatter during use.

Wooden push sticks - Once the crack has been smoked the push stick is used to move the filter back and forth to partially recover the crack that has hardened on the inside wall of the pipe as the pipe cools. Wooden push sticks are a safer alternative to metal push sticks which can damage the pipe and increase the risk of breakage.

Vaseline - used to keep lips moist and healthy, prevents cracks and open sores and disease transmission as a result.

Foils - Primarily used for smoking heroin, but can be used to smoke other drugs as well. Foil provision is often seen as an opportunity to promote a switch from injection to smoking which is less harmful.

Alcohol swabs - to clean hands and to wipe down a pipe. Also used to clean an injection site, if injecting drugs. To reduce the risk of transmission a new swab should be used every time. "
​

This document was published by Interior Health, a regional government health authority in British Columbia, Canada. But of course we can presume this would be equally applicable in the US.

(Call me cynical but I think most of us have difficulty believing the White House wanted to hand out "safe smoking kits" consisting of only wooden sticks, foil, disposable alcohol wipes, and vaseline.)


Apparently these will be distributed through public vending machines set up in drug-infested parts of neighborhoods.

" Harm reduction supply dispensing machines a new option to deliver services, expand access
April 12, 2021

Harm reduction programs around the country are looking for ways to improve access to their services, reduce costs and reduce stigma. Harm reduction supply dispensing machines, which provide a variety of health-related products and education to people who use drugs, are a relatively new way to expand the reach of such programs in the United States.

The first such machine in Greater Cincinnati was recently installed at Caracole in Cincinnati's Northside neighborhood. The pilot project is supported by Interact for Health.

The machine is accessible 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Supplies available include safer injection kits, safer smoking kits, safer sex kits, fentanyl test strips, naloxone to reverse overdoses, pregnancy tests, personal protective equipment and sharps kits. A sharps disposal container is located next to it. "​

Harm reduction supply dispensing machines a new option to deliver services, expand access (interactforhealth.org)


It now seems like the Biden Administration is backtracking and claiming they never intended to hand out crack pipes in the first place. (Perhaps there was too much public backlash?)
Maybe what happened is someone suggested the idea of "safe smoking kits", everyone thought it sounded like a good idea so it was given the go-ahead, but maybe Biden had not realized exactly what would be in those kits, or it had not been expressed in those explicit terms, before the news caught wind of the story.

 

~ I hope a toothbrush and fluoride is included in those kits ! '

 

Everyone knows you go to the corner store and get one of those little love roses for a dollar well they're probably $2 now in a little glass tube with a little rose that everyone buys it just for the Little flower not for the glass tube!

 

From the Left-leaning news site Snopes:

Did Biden Admin 'Fund Crack Pipes' To 'Advance Racial Equity'?

"Secondly, the provision of safer smoking supplies did not have as its purpose advancing the cause of racial equity. Rather, its purpose was, quite logically, to reduce harm and infection among existing drug users. However, the grant description did state that priority would be given to applicants who serve communities that are historically underserved."​

Communities that are historically underserved = Black Neighborhoods.


https://jabberwocking.com/what-the-hell-is-a-safe-smoking-kit/

"Snowden shared photos showing a number of items from the handouts including a toothbrush, comb, latex gloves, snacks, Narcan, drug tests, tourniquets, syringes, and crack pipes."​

 

In other words since you did not read the actual submission you have no idea and are just speculating

 

De Nile ain't just the longest river in Africa.

 

~ Never leave home without one !

 

What's in a safe smoking kit? Well - safe crack, obviously!

And you know it's guaranteed fresh, it even comes with Hunters Seal of Approval on each box!

 

wooden chopsticks, aluminum foil wrap, and sanitary alcohol wipes - I got all of that the last time I ordered out Chinese food.

There's no way I'm going to believe those are the only items that were going to be included in these "safe smoke" kits.

 

There was to much backlash so dems are backing down, as usual.

But make no mistake, we ALL know they were literally going to give crack pipes, and in some cases did.

 

They'll probably shift their strategy to handing it out on a state level.

The entire West Coast and maybe NYC and Massachusetts, I would imagine.
The state of Illinois might pass a law allowing the city of Chicago to do it. That doesn't strike me as too unlikely.
Vermont would probably want to jump onboard any new trend like this.
The politicians in New Jersey wouldn't like it but they'd pass anything like this if they thought it would buy them votes.
After a few years the two largest cities in Colorado might even try it, probably funneled with money from state grants.

 

I also speculate these vending machines will dispense Abortion pills, but that's another topic.

 

~ It would be much wiser and easier to sell the idea if Biden offered Compassionate Cannabis Kits to transition from cocaine. The marketing slogan could be " A safe and sane alternative for the active addict "

 

Do you have actual evidence this is what was going to be handed out?

https://www.factcheck.org/2022/02/biden-initiative-funds-drug-overdose-prevention-not-crack-pipes/

 

The state of Washington already became the first in the nation to hand out free cannabis. It was part of the pro-vaccination drive. (They were basically trying to bribe people to get the vaccine)

 

Then you at least concede that they were going to hand out glass tube mouthpieces to crack pipes?


Maybe I don't know, and this isn't exactly my area of expertise, but that does sort of seem like half the pipe...

 

If they start giving out free crack does it make you turn into a Democrat??

Some o dat...st stt stutta buttah!!!!

 

How much do you want to bet they will set up a voter registration table right next to the vending machine.

 

I don't see your point. In fact, you seem to be strengthening Snopes' case: this sounds like (including with the crack pipe) something that is directed towards drug-users, not specifically of any particular race; that sounds like it's more the deal of those who are painting this, as a largely racially- motivated situation.

Naturally, there will be those who see drug-users (or at least, users of certain drugs) as sub-human, and unworthy of any sort of consideration or concern. But, more to the point, I think, there are those who are going to find something to criticize, whenever possible, in anything the Biden Administration does.
And this feels like the proverbial tempest, in a partisan teapot (or crack pipe).
For those who didn't know, spotting those who are trying to stir-up outrage against the Liberal/Mainstream Media/Politically correct/Multicultural &"Socialist," political Left, is easier than picking out pock-marked meth heads, on unstoppable, 100 word a minute, talking jags, on largely deserted streets, at 3 A.M. To me, this "sign of the Left's depravity," gets a big yawn.

 

This was a grant for $30 million over 3 years which included a whole alphabet soup of things they COULD do.

https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/funding/5430

Ten million a year - once you take away money for wages leaves not a lot of budget to cover all of the above and especially to cover all of America
https://www.samhsa.gov/grants/grant-announcements/sp-22-001

By the time it filters down to the coal face it will probably end up being a couple of underpaid psych nurses with half a dozen amps of Naloxone and a couple of sharps containers. The “safe smoking kits” would be a packet of rubber bands a small tub of Vaseline and a packet of tinfoil that was left over from the corporate lunch the bigwigs had.

Given the sheer size of the American drug problem this is like putting a bandaids on a bleeding artery.

 

Then tell us what would be in a “safe smoking kit” please

 

Nevermind:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/w...ants-to-hand-out-safe-smoking-kits/ar-AATE0r8

“One of the requirements for recipients of grant funding is to purchase "equipment and supplies to enhance harm reduction efforts." The application lists 20 examples.

These includes the "Safe smoking kits/supplies" that have been the focus of some recent articles regarding crack pipes. Other items on the list were infectious disease testing kits, safe-sex kits, including PrEP resources and condoms, syringes "to prevent and control the spread of infectious diseases" and screening for infectious diseases.

The grant information does not mention pipes as part of safe smoking kits or specify what those kits should contain. HHS has now made clear that pipes will not be included.

However, pipes can sometimes be included in safe smoking kits, according to the Associated Press (AP).

 

I have given you the links

 

You did. Your links essentially said lip balm and aluminum foil. Which is absurd and doesn’t make smoking crack safer lol

You know what happened you just don’t want to acknowledge it. The Dems thought they would garner some votes by giving out drug paraphernalia and recognized a massive backlash against it and backed down.

 

Sorry - reduces burns. If you have a better idea please let us know otherwise you are simply making mountains out of molehills