To the people working on the frontline of the opioid epidemic, these measures are long overdue, and essential for saving lives. More than 100,000 people lost their lives in the 12 months prior to April 2021.Ī crisis this extreme requires new ideas. Last year, a record number of Americans died from drug overdoses.
The rapid rise of the synthetic drug fentanyl in America’s drug supply has poured rocket fuel on an already deadly opioid crisis. Taken out of context, these measures may indeed seem extreme - but context is important. The first of its kind opened in New York in November, and despite technically operating in violation of federal law, the city said it has been working closely on it with the Justice Department. The supervised injection sites, also called “overdose prevention centres,” are the result of years of lobbying by drug campaigners and success stories from Canada and Europe. HHS secretary Xavier Becerra released a statement declaring that “no federal funding will be used directly or through subsequent reimbursement of grantees to put pipes in safe smoking kits.” In any case, the White House later denied that “crack pipes” were part of any HHS funding proposal. Using brass screens lowers the risk of lung issues by reducing the amount of debris that is inhaled. Their use is aimed at encouraging safer drug use by avoiding the need for sharing, which can prevent the spread of diseases like HIV and Hepatitis C. They can include glass stems, rubber mouthpieces, brass screens, lip balm and disinfectant wipes. The smoking kits in question have been available for years to drug users outside of government-funded programmes.
"You bring the drugs, Uncle Sam has the needle,” read another Fox News chyron. “Joe Biden’s latest idea is to pay Black people to smoke more crack,” was how Carlson described it.
Both policies, apparently discovered on the same day in the same corner of the internet, made headlines on Tuesday across conservative media, including segments from Fox News talking heads Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity.
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