Update: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has denied that government-funded safe smoking kits would contain crack pipes, and White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki claimed that any report otherwise was simply misinformation.

During the 2020 presidential campaign, Joe Biden made sweeping promises to the black community. Now his administration has found a rather peculiar way to thank them for their loyalty. The White House reportedly is funding the distribution of crack pipes, among other things, in minority neighborhoods where many have historically struggled with drug addiction.

Before you ask, Hunter Biden is not heading up the program. Nevertheless, it appears those supporting this particular endeavor might be just as acquainted with the narcotic as the president’s son if they actually believe this is the best way to help black and brown communities. The Washington Free Beacon reported:

“The Biden administration is set to fund the distribution of crack pipes to drug addicts as part of its plan to advance ‘racial equity.’

“The $30 million grant program, which closed applications [Feb. 7] and will begin in May, will provide funds to nonprofits and local governments to help make drug use safer for addicts. Included in the grant, which is overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services, are funds for ‘smoking kits/supplies.’ A spokesman for the agency told the Washington Free Beacon that these kits will provide pipes for users to smoke crack cocaine, crystal methamphetamine, and ‘any illicit substance.’”

(Photo by: Kurt Wittman/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

HHS stated that the purpose for distributing these “smoking kits” is to “reduce the risk of infection when smoking substances with glass pipes, which can lead to infections through cuts and sores.” The department also noted that “[a]pplicants for the grants are prioritized if they treat a majority of ‘underserved communities.’” This would include – you guessed it – black Americans and “LGTBQ+ persons” as part of President Joe Biden’s executive order on “advancing racial equity.”

One aim of the initiative is to improve “health equity,” which HHS defines as “the right to access quality health care for all populations regardless of the individual’s race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, or geographical location.”

While several Democrat-run cities like San Francisco and Seattle have distributed these kits to residents, others have rejected them over concerns that they enable drug use and increase deaths due to narcotics. “Legislators in Maryland ditched their distribution plan after facing backlash from local law enforcement and African-American leaders,” according to The Beacon.

Funding provided by the grant also would offer other “harm reduction” equipment, including syringes, fentanyl strips, safe-sex kits, overdose reversal medication, infectious diseases testing kits, and more. The program is set to last three years and has 25 awards of up to $400,000.

According to the documentation, the grant is designed to “support community-based overdose prevention programs, syringe services programs, and other harm reduction services.” Additionally, it is intended to:

“[E]nhance overdose and other types of prevention activities to help control the spread of infectious diseases and the consequences of such diseases for individuals with, or at risk of developing substance use disorders (SUD), support distribution of FDA-approved overdose reversal medication to individuals at risk of overdose, build connections for individuals at risk for, or with, a SUD to overdose education, counseling, and health education …”

Applicants, upon approval, are expected to create a “behavioral health disparity impact statement” within two months of receiving their award.

Does this government “largesse” sound eerily familiar?

It does to those who have a passing familiarity with the history of the U.S. government’s involvement in introducing crack cocaine into black communities in the 1980s. In the mid-1990s, reporter Gary Webb wrote a controversial series of articles titled “Dark Alliance,” published in the San Jose Mercury News. He documented the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) operation that facilitated the sale of crack cocaine in black neighborhoods to fund and support the Contras fighting the Marxist Sandinistas in Nicaragua in the 1980s.

While much of what Webb reported has been disputed, it did raise questions about the CIA’s involvement in the illicit drug trade and how it affected the black community, another example of how the government has mistreated African Americans.

While that was a clandestine endeavor hidden from the executive branch, Biden’s White House is using a more overt method. A study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence showed that minorities are more likely to become addicted to crack cocaine long-term and also to be arrested for possessing the drug. The authors wrote:

“Crack users were at higher risk than powder cocaine users for reporting a lifetime arrest or multiple recent arrests. Racial minorities were at low risk for powder cocaine use and Hispanics were at low risk for crack use. Blacks were at increased risk for lifetime and recent crack use, but not when controlling for other socioeconomic variables. However, blacks who did use either powder cocaine or crack tended to use at higher frequencies. Higher education and higher family income were negatively associated with crack use although these factors were sometimes risk factors for powder cocaine use.”

This story demonstrates how some progressive solutions are akin to giving someone a scorpion wrapped in a fancy box with a pretty bow. Such programs claim to be working for the best interests of black Americans when, in reality, they are making the situation worse for many. On the surface, it might seem that such measures safeguard African Americans who are addicted to crack. After all, it’s all about equity, isn’t it? But in the end, it is only helping – and encouraging – these individuals to remain hooked, which will eventually lead to a much darker outcome.

~ Read more from Jeff Charles.