Seattle City Council ends program distributing crack pipes, tin foil to drug users

The Seattle City Council has voted to prohibit taxpayer funds from being used to purchase or distribute drug-use supplies such as pipes and foil, marking a significant shift in the city’s approach to harm-reduction strategies. The measure, known as HSD-057-A, places a strict proviso on the Human Services Department (HSD) budget, effective for the 2026 fiscal year.

Under the new policy, HSD is barred from directing any city dollars, including General Fund and opioid settlement funds, toward the acquisition or dissemination of materials used for consuming illegal drugs, with the sole exception of needles, which remain protected for use in authorized needle-exchange programs.

The budget action specifically restricts HSD from providing support to Public Health–Seattle & King County (PHSKC) or any of its subcontractors for the distribution of “safe consumption supplies” such as smoking pipes and aluminum foil. These supplies are typically distributed through subprogram J.1, which focuses on community access to medications for opioid use disorder and associated harm-reduction services.

The provision also states, “None of the money appropriated in the 2026 budget for the Human Services Department may be spent on the purchase or distribution of supplies for the consumption of illegal drugs, with the exception of needles.”

The move effectively eliminates the city’s financial participation in portions of PHSKC’s harm-reduction work, although private, federal, or non-city funds may still support such programs.

Outgoing Seattle City Council President Sara Nelson, a frequent critic of certain harm-reduction practices, forcefully argued that distributing pipes and foil undermines public health goals and public trust.

In remarks at the council meeting, Nelson questioned the logic of providing supplies used to consume lethal substances: “I fail to see, however, the harm that’s being reduced by distributing supplies such as pipes and foil, that are used to consume deadly drugs. There were 570 overdose deaths in Seattle last year and 1,047 in King County.”

Nelson emphasized that constituents would be “shocked” to learn that city resources were being used to facilitate drug use: “I think it would probably be shocking to our constituents if they knew that we are using public resources to help people get high by distributing pipes, foil with instructions… it feels like it’s giving a loaded gun to somebody who’s suicidal.”

She also slammed Public Health–Seattle & King County for failing to produce data showing how many individuals who receive these supplies ultimately engage with treatment: “The times that I have asked our Public Health colleagues, ‘How many people have actually gotten into treatment that you've been interacting with or who come in and access these supplies?’ There’s never an answer to that.”

The vote represents a clear departure from the failed “harm-reduction” philosophy previously embraced by the council.

Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth also raised concerns about the packaging of the supplies, noting that some bags featured the image of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, whose likeness symbolizes King County.

“If you brought an amendment to take Martin Luther King’s face off that bag… I would totally vote for it because that is the most Seattle thing I could possibly think of,” Hollingsworth said.

She added, “It’s very performative to put his face on and then hand out the stuff.”