In Case You Haven't Heard…

Abstract

The week of Feb. 7 will be known as the “crack pipe” debacle week, and you most likely have heard all about it. The upshot is that crack pipes cannot be funded under the harm‐reduction grants from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). First, right‐wing media reported that the Biden administration was funding crack pipes. The next day, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra and Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director Dr. Rahul Gupta released a statement saying, in part, “no federal funding will be used directly or through subsequent reimbursement of grantees to put pipes in safe smoking kits.” As SAMHSA, HHS and the ONDCP have said all along, the federal government regards fundable harm‐reduction strategies as naloxone, fentanyl test strips and syringe exchange services. Incidentally, what started as jubilation in the harm‐reduction community when SAMHSA first announced the $30 million in harm‐reduction grants (see “SAMHSA announces harm‐reduction grants,” ADAW Dec. 13, 2021; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adaw.33290) turned to pique and dismay as the application deadline approached. Grassroots groups that had little expertise in grant writing but were eager for the $400,000 made applying a cumbersome job — which is why we interviewed expert grant writer Jo Sotheran about how to do it (see How to apply for the $30 million in SAMHSA HR grants; ADAW Jan. 10; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adaw.33307).