The Biden administration is funding “harm reduction kiosks” in the rust belt which will allow drug addicts to procure drug paraphernalia without having to interact with another human being.
The administration will spend $3.6 million to test the effectiveness of the kiosks in rural Kentucky, according to a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant awarded in August. The kiosks will contain items and substances such as naloxone, syringes, fentanyl test strips and condoms, the Washington Free Beacon first reported.
The Biden admin is set to deploy vending machines filled with drug supplies in rural Kentucky to “reduce stigma” for drug users.
The NIH study is one of the latest “harm reduction” plans from the Biden admin. @FreeBeacon https://t.co/RklDRhIah9
— Patrick Hauf (@PatrickHauf) September 7, 2022
Vending machines may be a preferable option to traditional harm reduction clinics because they eliminate the stigma of having to speak to a real person, potentially a medical professional, to procure drug paraphernalia, according to the NIH. The program is the latest in a long line of harm reduction proposals implemented by the Biden administration.
Harm reduction is a philosophy for addressing drug use that seeks to make illegal drug use safer rather than to eradicate it. Other harm reduction initiatives undertaken by the Biden team have involved funding safe smoking kits and syringe exchanges across the country.
Biden’s drug policy czar, Dr. Rahul Gupta, is a strong proponent of harm reduction policies. He is a champion of safe injection sites, which allow drug addicts to use dangerous substances in an environment supervised by medical professionals or volunteers. (RELATED: Even Democrats Now Agree That The Government Should Not Fund Crack Pipes)
The Daily Caller previously reported that some harm reduction facilities funded by the Biden administration are distributing crack pipes among their safe smoking kits. The administration has repeatedly denied that it funds or intends to fund the distribution of crack pipes to addicts, but openly funds the distribution of clean syringes for heroin use.