White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked on Thursday about new reporting that contradicted her previous claims about so-called "safe smoking kits" provided to addicts and whether they contain crack pipes.
"This policy does not allow for crack pipes to be included," Psaki said doubling down on her earlier denial regarding an HHS grant program that funds community organizations assisting drug addicts with things such as clean needles, tests for communicable diseases, and the safe smoking kits. "I would just note that this is a bit of a conspiracy theory that's been spread out there. It's not accurate," she added of what is now proof that some safe smoking kits contain crack pipes.
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— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 12, 2022
Jen Psaki says that it is a "conspiracy theory" that HHS "safe smoking kits" contain crack pipes.
"It's not accurate." pic.twitter.com/5D0lBnCXNh
As Townhall reported earlier on Thursday, followup reporting from The Washington Free Beacon saw a reporter go to sites in five cities on the eastern seaboard where the safe smoking kits are provided free of charge — in the District of Columbia, Baltimore, Boston, New York City, and Richmond, Virginia — and each kit obtained by The Beacon had a crack pipe — plus items allowing recipients to use a handful of other illicit substances.
As The Beacon reported:
All of the organizations we visited made crack pipes as well as paraphernalia for the use of heroin, cocaine, and crystal methamphetamine readily available without requiring or offering rehabilitation services, suggesting that pipes are included in many if not most of the kits distributed across the country. All of the centers we visited are run by health-focused nonprofits and government agencies—the types of groups eligible to receive funding, starting this month, from the Biden administration's $30 million grant program.
Yet Psaki maintained her claim that crack pipes were not being provided as part of any federal grant program while also refusing to provide evidence of any oversight that would enable her to make such a denial.
Thursday's answer matched what Psaki had said when the initial story broke earlier this year:
FLASHBACK: Jen Psaki called reporting that HHS grants would be used to distribute crack pipes “inaccurate reporting.”
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 12, 2022
“They were never a part of the kit.” pic.twitter.com/y5ad0OMIRz