FLORIDA, USA — (The story above is from a previous, unrelated report)
A social media firestorm lit up the internet Wednesday after multiple reports surfaced that the Biden administration was using federal dollars to pay for “crack pipes" to mitigate some harm of smoking illegal substances.
Amid the chaos, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) announced he was planning to introduce legislation to amend Section 2706 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to prohibit any funds from "directly or indirectly purchasing, supplying, or distributing crack pipes or similar drug paraphernalia."
However, the Biden administration later clarified that the grant program to counter harm from illicit drugs will not pay for the pipes.
“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.”
Rubio called it “insanity” in a video posted on Twitter and issued a statement following the announcement.
“I am glad the Biden Administration acknowledges sending crack pipes to our nation’s addicts is a bad idea,” Rubio said. “It is pure insanity to think the federal government would fund crack pipe distribution. I will introduce legislation in the coming days to make sure this program can never pay for crack pipes, and given the Biden Administration’s position, I look forward to their vigorous support.”
This report was prepared, in part, with portions of previous reporting done by the Associated Press. You can find that full report here.