It has been reported that as much as $5 million in federal COVID relief funding was given to several organizations that distribute crack pipes to drug addicts.
According to the Daily Caller, at least eight different organizations were found to have received funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the relief system that was heavily used during the Coronavirus pandemic to ostensibly provide aid to business owners during the economic shutdown.
Two of the organizations each received over $1 million, with the eight groups combined receiving over $5 million. One of the top beneficiaries was the Downtown Emergency Service Center in Seattle, Washington, which received $1,900,000 from PPP in 2021. The organization admits to handing out “three kinds of glass” to drug addicts, who can also “get one kind of each pipe a week.”
Another organization that received a massive sum from the PPP was the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, which was given $1,815,000 in 2020. The group hands out materials that can be used to create crack pipes, including aluminum foil, pipe covers, and brillo. In addition, the group is involved in a “pipe and syringe program” at San Francisco General Hospital.
The report reveals not only another example of corruption with the PPP, but further demonstrates the sudden shift on the Left to openly support distributing drug paraphernalia as a means to supposedly reduce drug addiction. The Biden Administration announced in early February its intentions to pay for the distribution of crack pipes and funding more so-called “safe injection” sites for drug users to more easily access drugs such as heroin.
The White House later walked back these ideas after widespread backlash, denying that crack pipes would be included in “smoking kits” handed out by nonprofit organizations that receive funding from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that the kits would instead contain only “alcohol swabs, lip balm, other materials to promote hygiene and reduce the transmission of diseases like HIV and hepatitis.”
Furthermore, this is not the first time that federal COVID relief funds have been given to questionable recipients. As previously reported, a high-class art gallery in New York City that has hosted art shows featuring Hunter Biden’s work received hundreds of thousands of dollars in “disaster assistance loans” from the Small Business Administration during the presidency of Hunter’s father, Joe Biden. This revelation led to accusations of corruption and ethics violations by the Biden Administration.