NO MORE SHAME –

Feb. 17, 2022 – I know that safer use supplies keep people safe, that’s why I was so disgusted to see misdirected outrage in response to the federal government finally providing funding to harm reduction programs. Despite the misleading headlines, our communities aren’t facing a problem around the distribution of so-called “crack pipes,” or as we call them, stems or straights. The real problem is the historical lack of investment in public health solutions that connect people to support and care. 

And it’s no coincidence that funding of “crack pipes” is what’s fueling all this debate — that rhetoric is a dog whistle to the anti-Black Reagan-era politics that led us to the record number of overdose deaths we see today.

We cannot continue to stigmatize harm reduction. Not only do people get less help it also makes politicians skittish and causes much-needed life-saving resources to dry up.

We can already see it happening. In the short time between the Department of Health and Human Services’ announcement of $30 million dedicated to harm reduction strategies and the outrage that ensued, the federal government has now removed smoking pipes from the list of public health tools getting funded.

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