How Oregon county health department spent $84K: Meth pipes, chapstick, 'boofing,' and more

Publish date: 2024-07-29

The Multnomah County Health Department has released a list breaking down how it spent over $80,000 of taxpayer dollars for a suspended "harm reduction" program - including pipes, chapstick, and an instruction pamphlet on how to "boof" drugs.

This follows the department's contested pilot program of purchasing "smoking supplies" for drug users and providing them free of charge for harm reduction purposes.

However, this program proved controversial, and public outcry led to the indefinite suspension of the program before it could begin its intended activities in July.

Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson said the decision to suspend the county health department's program was largely over poor communication between agencies and with the public. It should be noted that Vega Pederson signed off on the program without consulting the public and board members.

The program's suspension came after the money had already been spent, and KATU requested a list of all the items purchased and at what cost.

Here's a breakdown of some of the things the MCHD spent taxpayer dollars on, per a PDF document provided by the MCHD:

The program drew notoriety in the first place for the idea that it would be giving straws and tinfoil to fentanyl users, materials that are indeed reflected in the itemized list - 31,000 straws (noted specifically as boba staws) and 90,000 sheets of foil were ordered from Amazon for the combined cost of $9,498.

But the list shows that the majority of expenses went toward various types of drug pipes - a total of 55,404 meth, stem, and bubble pipes were ordered at the cost of almost $43,000.

MCHD also attempted to use the money to order 1,700 cases of chapstick at the cost of $33,107. However, only 77 cases were ultimately purchased for $1,700.

The county spent nearly $300 on 20,000 chopsticks to hand out, and $80 on 1,000 units of water-based lube.

This last item could possibly be related to the $5 the MCHD paid for "educational materials," which is an illustrated instructional pamphlet (link NSFW) on "boofing" - the insertion of drugs into the anus to get high.

Other assorted items on the list include red rubber mouthpieces for pipes, copper scouring pads, vinyl tubing, safety goggles, gloves, and more.

The full itemized list in the above photo gallery.

At the end of the day, the total cost of items on the inventory list comes to $84,212.93.)

The program is still suspended pending review.

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