Portland county spends tax dollars to teach addicts how to do drugs through the anus

In June, the Multnomah County Health Department spent over $84,000 on paraphernalia for local drug users. It has since been revealed that among the items purchased using taxpayer dollars was a guide teaching addicts how to inject substances up their anus, a practice known as "boofing."

Despite pushback from residents concerned with soaring overdose rates, the health department purchased the supplies, however tensions have since boiled over causing officials to temporarily pause the program.



According to KOIN, the aforementioned guide to "boofing" cost $5, and was procured from Sessi Kuwabara Blanchard, a trans-identifying biological male law student, journalist, and self-proclaimed addicts rights activist.

Blanchard describes the document as a "harm reduction guide for boofing," which was described as "the holy act of putting drugs up your butt."

The bulk of the $84,212.93 went towards purchasing myriad types of pipes, including stem, bubble, hammer, and meth varieties. In total, the 55,404 smoking devices cost $42,966.

A further $21,613 was spent on nearly 200,000 copper scouring pads and brass screens, while $7,250 went towards aluminum foil.

The health department shelled out just over $8,000 for objects aimed at protecting users from bloodborne illnesses, including $6,820 for rubber mouthpieces and $1,389 on chapstick. As KOIN reports, the original plan was to purchase $30,107 worth of chapstick, but the supplier was not able to keep up with demand.

Lastly, just under $300 was spent on 20,000 chopsticks, which addicts could use to install their pipe filters.

In an interview with KOIN, Multnomah County Health spokesperson Sarah Dean responded to the backlash, explaining that the items had been paid for using "surplus funding from the county's syringe budget," adding that board members were given the opportunity to voice their concerns before it was approved.
 

"All methods of drug use can cause injury, elevate risk for infectious disease and cause cross-contamination and/or exposure to a drug they did not intend to ingest," Dean admitted, suggesting that "harm reduction" could help.

Local residents have not shared her view that this is the correct way to go about dealing with the city's drug problem. Even the Portland City Council questioned the decision, with Mayor Ted Wheeler suggesting it would enable fentanyl users.