Govenrment spending: $30 million for crack pipe parts.

[Josh]

I would presume this would be to reduce the harm to addicts. I hope they monitor the program to see if it has this effect.

We have several decades of research on “harm reduction” and so far it does not help drug addiction.

Thanks. Does it help drug addicts? That's a different question.

From what I read, no - the overall things they were trying to move the needle on didn’t improve. One theory was that making drug use seem “safer” ended up meaning drug users would actually end up taking more risks. The other surprising finding was that most the needles given away ended up in the hands of non-drug-users who in turn sold them.

[JimFoxvog]

From what I read, no - the overall things they were trying to move the needle on didn’t improve. One theory was that making drug use seem “safer” ended up meaning drug users would actually end up taking more risks. The other surprising finding was that most the needles given away ended up in the hands of non-drug-users who in turn sold them.

Thanks. That's helpful. Too often people follow their own ideas rather than evidence.

I've certainly read a number of accounts of positive results of decriminalization and treatment. You can see a list of many of these places here: https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/cou ... drugs.html

[Grace]

Hunter Biden Arrives At White House In Fake Mustache And Glasses To Receive Free Crack Pipe

article-10474-2.jpg


https://babylonbee.com/news/hunter-bide ... crack-pipe

Where’s Grace?

LOL. Jen Psaki says the "Harm Reduction Kits" will not include crack pipes. But with such a profound history of lying, can she believed? And were they originally included, but after the backlash, it was decided against?

This is the recommendation from HRI.

Safer smoking kits
The distribution of safer smoking kits (which can include glass stems, rubber mouthpieces,
brass screens, lip balm and disinfectant wipes) aims to engage people who smoke drugs with
harm reduction and health services and to reduce health complications caused by unsafe
equipment. By using safer equipment, people who smoke drugs can avoid the emergence of
lesions, burns and cuts to the lips and mouth that are associated with a risk of infection and
hepatitis C transmission. It can also reduce the risk of lung issues associated with using improvised
smoking equipment.

The use of improvised pipes made from plastic bottles or aluminium cans can lead to lung damage and
the inhalation of carcinogenic fumes, and the practice of using a layer of cigarette ash to suspend the
crack in improvised pipes is associated with emphysema. In some countries drug control regulations
prevent the distribution of crack pipes. In these contexts, an alternative is to support street forms of
glass-based improvised pipe and avoid the use of cigarette ash as a suspending agent.

Pipe distribution programmes can also encourage safer drug-taking practices. “Pin to pipe” programmes
aim to encourage smoking rather than injection of substances, to avoid the greater risk of blood-
borne virus transmission associated with injection. “Pin and pipe” programmes encourage people
to administer different substances through different routes, to avoid “snowballing” (simultaneous
injection of heroin and stimulant, most commonly cocaine, crack or methamphetamine)

https://www.hri.global/files/2019/04/28 ... -coact.pdf

[HondurasKeiser]

Hunter Biden Arrives At White House In Fake Mustache And Glasses To Receive Free Crack Pipe

article-10474-2.jpg


https://babylonbee.com/news/hunter-bide ... crack-pipe

Where’s Grace?

LOL. Jen Psaki says the "Harm Reduction Kits" will not include crack pipes. But with such a profound history of lying, can she believed? And were they originally included, but after the backlash, it was decided against?

I read this at Bari Weiss's substack this morning on the latest with respect to both the 'Crack Pipes for Safety' program and the strange "fact-checking" taking place at places like Snopes and Facebook.

Meth kits for justice: The Biden Administration announced this week it would be putting $30 million of taxpayer money into grants for programs that will in part provide drug users with crack and meth “safe smoking kits,” which typically include the glass stems (the pipes). Priority would be given to drug programs for minority-groups, the administration said.

The Free Beacon reported that a source told them the crack kits could specifically include pipes, and the story went viral. The Fact Checkers were furious. Snopes, which at one time was a Facebook official fact checker, labeled the reporting with a big red X and MOSTLY FALSE rating . . . while confirming the Free Beacon reporting as entirely true. Here’s how they explained it:

In 2022, a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services substance abuse harm reduction grant did require recipients to provide safer smoking kits to existing drug users. In distributing grants, priority would be given to applicants serving historically underserved communities. However what’s false is this was just one of around 20 components of the grant program and far from its most prominent or important one.

That’s right: Snopes claims that the news about smoking kits is true. It’s just not important.

Or here’s Facebook’s “Partly False” Fact Check that also confirms the Free Beacon reporting:

While a description of the HHS grants stated that the grantees would be required to buy materials like safe smoking kits and supplies to "enhance harm reduction efforts," such kits and supplies are just a few of the many materials that grantees can utilize.

The crack kits are just one of many other things in the basket, you see. So it’s false.

The backlash did, thankfully, reach the White House, which responded by saying they would not directly fund crack pipes and then later that they never were going to add pipes into the smoking kits. Are they lying now in the face of outrage? Maybe. Maybe not. That’s what fierce, independent reporting is for, and that’s why banning articles on developing stories is idiotic.

The disinformation-is-whatever-I-say people run media tech coverage, social media content policy, and now are heavily influencing domestic terrorism policy. Biden’s Department of Homeland Security released this week a bulletin about Domestic Terrorism focused on those who post “mis- dis- and mal-information.” I’m not kidding. The DHS writes: “These threat actors seek to exacerbate societal friction to sow discord and undermine public trust in government institutions to encourage unrest.”

Remember this anytime you read a story about “misinformation” in the legacy press or see a “fact check” from your social media giant of choice. The people doing this are hoping you can’t use your eyes to read, and their goal is to get the government involved. True is now Mostly False. Unknown is Definitely Known. For all Trump’s sweaty efforts at controlling information, the best authoritarians are well-educated bureaucrats.

[Josh]

You'll notice in these links that they talk about using a "spark plug" as an improvised crack pipe. (The "safer smoking" kits include accessories to help the drug addict use such improvised crack pipes more conveniently and easily.)

This has led to people who drive scooters or motorcycles in places like the Bay Area finding that some crack smoker has snapped off the top of their spark plugs for such use. I have a difficult time understanding why the government wants to be complicit in promoting such behaviour.

[JimFoxvog]

You'll notice that no one proposed $30 million for crack pipe parts. This is a story spread by Fox News types as a disinformation campaign.

No money for drug pipes: Feds douse social media firestorm
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR and BEATRICE DUPUY
February 9, 2022

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dousing a social media firestorm, the Biden administration said Wednesday that a grant program to counter harm from illicit drugs will not pay for safer pipes to smoke crack or meth.

The White House was put on the defensive as outrage from the political right, some of it with racial overtones, was cresting online.

“No federal funding will be used directly or through subsequent reimbursement of grantees to put pipes in safe smoking kits,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and White House drug policy adviser Rahul Gupta said in a joint statement.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said separately it was never the intention to pay for drug pipes, and complained that any such impression was created by “inaccurate reporting.”

...
https://apnews.com/article/business-hea ... 69f644731d

[Josh]

Jim,

My source was the Washington Post, not Fox News.

I never said the money will be spent on crack pipes. I said the money is marked for crack pipe parts such as a rubber band to make using a crack pipe easier.

This isn’t “fake news”. The White House really is distributing “smoking kits” to help people smoke crack more conveniently.

[temporal1]

i empathize with Psaki. it’s got to be tough to follow Kayleigh McEnany and Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
frankly, i’m surprised Dems could find someone as lucid/capable as Jen Psaki. i give them credit for trying.

for Dems, it’s all about hollywood-style “casting.” it’s about appearances, then reading scripts.
it’s a very hollywood-centric model. actors+scripts.



The problem with “gov helping” is, throwing taxpayer dollars at evil does nothing but “elevate and normalize” sin+destruction.
No matter good intentions, intended good is quickly thwarted by exploiters.

i wish this were not the case.

[Grace]

i empathize with Psaki. it’s got to be tough to follow Kayleigh McEnany and Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
frankly, i’m surprised Dems could find someone as lucid/capable as Jen Psaki. i give them credit for trying.

for Dems, it’s all about hollywood-style “casting.” it’s about appearances, then reading scripts.
it’s a very hollywood-centric model. actors+scripts.

The problem with “gov helping” is, throwing taxpayer dollars at evil does nothing but “elevate and normalize” sin+destruction.
No matter good intentions, intended good is quickly thwarted by exploiters.

i wish this were not the case.

Jen Psaki does a good job in attempting to defend a president who obviously is very hard to defend. However I find her difficult to listen to, as she can’t speak without using hundreds of filler words. She needs to “circle back” to Jr. High and take a public speaking course. Add to that she consistently twist things and lies between her “ahhhs”, “errrs”, “Well as you know”. But this is off topic.

As for handing out crack pipes. It sounds like the "safe smoking kits" will include everything but the crack pipes. It reminds me of the unmarried dating couple who did everything sexually, except have actual intercourse, and then claimed they were sexually pure. Whether the "safe smoking kits" include pipes or not, the government is spending money to promote drug use.

[temporal1]

i empathize with Psaki. it’s got to be tough to follow Kayleigh McEnany and Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
frankly, i’m surprised Dems could find someone as lucid/capable as Jen Psaki. i give them credit for trying.

for Dems, it’s all about hollywood-style “casting.” it’s about appearances, then reading scripts.
it’s a very hollywood-centric model. actors+scripts.

The problem with “gov helping” is, throwing taxpayer dollars at evil does nothing but “elevate and normalize” sin+destruction.
No matter good intentions, intended good is quickly thwarted by exploiters.

i wish this were not the case.

Jen Psaki does a good job in attempting to defend a president who obviously is very hard to defend.

However I find her difficult to listen to, as she can’t speak without using hundreds of filler words. She needs to “circle back” to Jr. High and take a public speaking course. Add to that she consistently twist things and lies between her “ahhhs”, “errrs”, “Well as you know”. But this is off topic.

As for handing out crack pipes.
It sounds like the "safe smoking kits" will include everything but the crack pipes.

It reminds me of the unmarried dating couple who did everything sexually, except have actual intercourse, and then claimed they were sexually pure.

Whether the "safe smoking kits" include pipes or not, the government is spending money to promote drug use.

i agree with all of this.
JP tries, but, lacks depth. i feel sorry for her. She’s in an impossble position. She’s there for optics.
It would be more humane to replace her with a robot, with nothing lost.

To me, it’s the hollywood model.
hollywood makes successful MOVIES about presidents+politics, they sure seem to think they can translate “formula films” into running the entire U.S.: Casting actors, assigning scripts. (i pray the bar is higher than that!) but they are givng it their MAXIMUM effort. $$$$ So many buying tickets to their poor political theater.

Gov spending guarantees elevation+normalization of crimes+sins. They fix NOTHING.

As for lib policies.
It’s crystal clear, the end result is forcing everyone to live equally in gutters, not lifting up.

Too many vote for it, then wonder, “what happened?!”

There is no substitute for the heart of Jesus. Who did not dig into any public treasury.