Republican U.S. Sen. criticized President Joe Biden last month for supposedly funding the distribution of free crack pipes 鈥� an assertion federal officials denied and called misleading.
Cruz was referring to the Biden administration鈥檚 $30 million grant program that aims to mitigate the fallout from the country鈥檚 opioid crisis and increased fentanyl overdoses. The program relies on what are called , which call for minimizing the detrimental health and economic impacts of drug abuse until users can get treatment rather than criminalizing addiction.
The senator鈥檚 comments focused on safe smoking kits, which typically contain alcohol swabs, lip balm and other protective materials meant to protect users from possible burns, blisters and transmittable infections such as HIV and hepatitis C. Some harm-reduction organizations include glass stems that can function as pipes in their safe smoking kits. But White House press secretary Jen Psaki that the federal program would fund the inclusion of pipes and said the federal government does not support direct or indirect funding for such items.
As conversations continue about alleviating the damage from opioids and fentanyl, here鈥檚 what you should know about Cruz鈥� claims and harm-reduction practices in Texas.
How were Cruz鈥� comments misleading?
In early February, Cruz sparked controversy when he 鈥淏iden crime policy: Crack pipes for all鈥� and then later went on his podcast, , to further amplify the statement, which fact-checkers have said is .
Cruz鈥檚 comments responded to a news article from a conservative publication that claimed the program providing funding for harm-reduction policies under the Biden administration would distribute crack pipes as part of safe smoking kits.
His statements that Biden was giving out crack pipes 鈥� in conjunction with messaging from other Republican senators 鈥� reverberated in conservative and right-wing information circles.
The fallout was significant enough that U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat from West Virginia, joined Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida to prohibiting federal funds for purchasing paraphernalia like pipes and needles.
But federal officials denied claims the program would fund pipes. In a joint statement, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and National Drug Control Policy Director Rahul Gupta said their agencies are focused on 鈥渦sing our resources smartly鈥� to reduce the harm and fatalities caused by drug use.
鈥淎ccordingly, no federal funding will be used directly or through subsequent reimbursement of grantees to put pipes in safe smoking kits,鈥� they said.
A spokesperson for Cruz did not respond to requests for comment.
What is the harm-reduction approach?
Harm reduction offers a science-based alternative of recognizing addiction as a disease, as opposed to traditional and nonscientific approaches that have criminalized drug usage.
For the most part, harm reduction does not look to cure the addictions of the people served. Instead, it works to ensure people on drugs stay alive and as healthy as possible until they can receive proper treatment.
Advocates understand that drug use entails significant risks, but also believe that people 鈥� especially those dealing with addiction 鈥� need love and support.
鈥淭here are going to be people that use drugs,鈥� said Claire Zagorski, a harm-reduction and drug policy researcher at the University of Texas at Austin鈥檚 College of Pharmacy. 鈥淚 want to meet those people wherever they are.鈥�
Zagorski said harm reduction is economically smart 鈥� people who overdose or injure themselves while using can end up with a hospital bill that they cannot pay.
Marcia Ory, a public health professor at Texas A&M University and chair of the school鈥檚 , said the harm-reduction approach accompanies a shift in perception about addiction. Evidence shows that people who get addicted to drugs don鈥檛 have a lack of willpower but instead undergo bodily changes that entice them to want more drugs.
Ory, whose task force provides training on harm reduction and naloxone administration, said if criminalization were successful, fewer people would have addiction and fewer lives and families would be ruined.
鈥淚 would hope that harm-reduction strategies would become the norm, that they would be prevalent, that the view of addiction would be away from a criminal perspective toward a medical perspective,鈥� said Ory. 鈥淭hese strategies have been around for some time, and the issue is being able to utilize them to the fullest, because that鈥檚 what鈥檚 going to save people鈥檚 lives, families, communities.鈥�
What do harm-reduction practices look like?
Programs can distribute an array of products that all aim to reduce harm from drug use. That can include safe injection kits with clean syringes and fentanyl testing strips, which are a relatively cheap way to check for the presence of the deadly narcotic that is increasingly a .
鈥淏ecause fentanyl is becoming more prevalent 鈥� it鈥檚 deadly 鈥� it鈥檚 all the more reason why some of those harm-reduction strategies are so important,鈥� Ory said. 鈥淭he assumption is that if you have drug paraphernalia freely available, that that鈥檚 going to encourage drug abuse, that is not a scientific fact.鈥�
Distributed items can also include naloxone, often known as Narcan, a medicine that can treat opioid overdose. Additionally, many programs also give out products for non-drug-related use, like safe sex kits and general hygiene kits with soap and toothbrushes.
Are harm reduction policies being used in Texas?
As the state grapples with the ongoing opioid epidemic and a , public health experts say that harm-reduction strategies can both help people with their drug addictions and curb fallout from the crisis.
Narcan is one product many harm-reduction groups in Texas distribute that the state has also using. Recent between the state and pharmaceutical companies implicated in the opioid epidemic provide millions of dollars鈥� worth of Narcan for the state.
But other strategies face a roadblock in Texas: State law criminalizes the possession and distribution of drug paraphernalia, which includes fentanyl testing strips. Clean syringes and clean pipes can also be considered paraphernalia.
During last year鈥檚 legislative session, a sponsored by state Rep. , D-Dallas, aimed to remove criminal penalties for possessing paraphernalia. The bill passed out of committee but never came up for a vote by the Texas House.
Crockett, who is , agrees that a harm-reduction approach is the future for helping combat drug problems, in contrast to criminalizing drugs.
鈥淵ou lock someone up who has an addiction, you don鈥檛 help them at all,鈥� Crockett said. 鈥淵ou just put them away, and then you let them back out. Guess what? They still have an addiction. And they鈥檝e not been given the tools and resources. And sadly enough, they鈥檝e not been treated with the dignity that really they should be afforded.鈥�
Those barriers prompted many advocates for harm-reduction policies to criticize Cruz for politicizing their work.
鈥淚t鈥檚 outrageous that somebody like Ted Cruz is even commenting on harm-reduction tools when a lot of the evidence-based tools that we need in the first place are illegal in the state,鈥� said Paulette Soltani, director of organizing for the Texas Harm Reduction Alliance, which outside Cruz鈥檚 Austin office in March. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a political issue at the expense of the lives of Texans.鈥�