More than 300 Americans die every day from a drug overdose, but instead of focusing on this public health crisis Republicans and right-wing media have been whipped into a frenzy over government grants to supply people with safe smoking kits, among other harm reduction measures. According to the misinformation campaign, the smoking kits—along with overdose reversal medication, fentanyl test strips, and infectious disease testing supplies—are allegedly aimed at handing out crack pipes to the Black community. While this is patently false, and based on racist tropes perpetuated during the crack era which disproportionately impacted Black people, Fox News, and Republican politicians, are claiming that Biden wants more “Black people to smoke more crack and meth.” In fact, safe smoking supplies, distributed through harm reduction programs, is an evidence-based practice that helps people who inject drugs to switch to smoking, which is considered a less risky mode of consumption. Other benefits include reduction of injection-related harm and risks such as infection and blood-borne disease transmission, as well as reduced risk of overdose, as inhalation involves lower doses of the drug. At a time when more than 100,000 Americans have died of a drug overdose in the past 12 months, spreading lies about giving crack pipes to Blacks diverts us from the critical task of confronting the tragic addiction and overdose crisis.
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Rosenthal Center for AddictIon Studies