New York City unveiled their new plan for fighting rampant drug overdoses - by installing vending machines that dispense free crack pipes.
As part of the New York City Health Department’s initiative to lower disease and drug overdoses, the city is launching “public health vending machines" that dispense safe sex kits, Narcan, and drug paraphernalia, according to the New York Post. Available items include “Safer Smoking Kits,” which include a pipe that can be used for smoking crack or crystal meth, as well as lip balm.
NYC vending machines cater to drug users with free crack pipes, lip balm — and Narcan for ODs. https://t.co/YsMRtwvbpb pic.twitter.com/F2E9JppSWb
— New York Post (@nypost) June 6, 2023
The machines also provide, “safer sniffing kits,” condoms, tampons, nicotine gum and first-aid packages, along with Narcan, a drug widely used to treat drug overdoses. All the items are free, and users just have to enter their zip code to get what they want. If they're still available, of course - the machines reportedly "sold out" of crack pipes in less than a day.
Each of the four machines the city plans to deploy will cost taxpayers $11,000, and will be placed in neighborhoods that have the worst drug problems.
According to recent data, New York City has had the worst year on record for fatal overdoses, clocking over 2,000 drug deaths in 2021 alone. Most of those deaths were caused by fentanyl.
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