As Fentanyl Deaths Spike, LA Hands Out Crack Pipes

County teams are passing out glass pipes for smoking opioids, meth, and crack to drug addicts on the street, the Los Angeles Times reported. They also dispense needles, wipes, and medicine for treating overdoses. The supplies are called "harm reduction," and officials argue that it's safer to smoke the drugs than inject them with potentially contaminated needles and fentanyl. Los Angeles County increased its spending on harm reduction from $5.4 million to $31.5 million this year.
The report comes as fentanyl overdose deaths accelerate in California and state Democrats in April blocked two bills that would have strengthened penalties for drug dealers who kill or seriously injure someone with fentanyl or are caught with enough of the drug to kill thousands of people.
A Washington Free Beacon investigation last year found several Democratic cities hand out crack pipes despite the Biden administration claiming its multimillion-dollar harm reduction program doesn't spend taxpayer dollars on drug paraphernalia. Every organization the Free Beacon visited, including in Boston, New York City, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Richmond, included crack pipes in their kits.