In a video posted to X by California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton, Los Angeles programs are shown distributing free crack pipes to homeless people on Skid Row. According to the post, the items are provided using taxpayer money as part of harm reduction initiatives. The clip, which Hilton says he filmed during a visit to the area, has drawn widespread attention online, with many users reacting strongly to the practice.
In the video, a woman and Hilton are shown on the streets of Skid Row near a care campus. The woman states, “They got $28 million to give out free crack pipes, needles, and foil.” Hilton then continues, explaining, “Crack pipes handed out by the government for people to take drugs. Harm reduction, that’s what it’s called.”
He describes the underlying philosophy as one that has been “such a disaster everywhere it has been tried,” saying the theory is to keep people on drugs to make use “a little bit safer than if you get it on the street” rather than helping them get off drugs and back on track. He calls the approach “a total abject failure everywhere it has been tried” and adds that “year after year they keep doing it here and that’s why no one ever gets better. It’s just an outrage.”
It is not clear from the footage whether the distribution of pipes is captured at the exact moment of filming or occurred during the visit described in the post. According to the accompanying caption, the team observed the practice firsthand. The video shows people in the area and references smoking while including a news-style headline overlay about issues at the multimillion-dollar Skid Row campus.
X Users Clash on Taxpayer Dollars and Crack Pipes in Los Angeles
Commenters questioned the legality and use of public funds, with one writing, “How are people not in prison for doing and allowing this?” and another asking whether it amounts to “illegal AND MISAPPROPRIATION OF TAXPAYER MONEY AND OH, DESTRUCTION OF THE MEDICAL OATH TO DO NO HARM.”
Others argued the policy is counterproductive, stating, “You make it easier to be a drug addict. You will get more drug addicts; the same applies to homelessness,” “It’s shameful. It enables drug abuse and puts countless lives at risk,” and “Anything claiming to reduce harm is actually producing harm.”
Several focused on the political context in California, with comments including “Only in California,” “Gavin Newsom’s government’s achievement is abusing taxpayers’ money to dispatch drugs to homeless people who are victims of Gavin Newsom’s society-destroying machine,” and “Democrats need to keep the grift going to continue filling their own pockets.”
Personal perspectives included, “I lost a brother to meth. I learned from him, and his addiction is that: You can not help people who do not want it.”
Some expressed support for the exposure, such as “I very much look forward to you putting an end to all of this nonsense, gov,” while others described the visit as performative, noting, “You keep going to Skid Row for your photo ops. Has it ever occurred to you to do something other than complain?”
It remains to be seen what, if any, policy changes may follow from the attention on Skid Row services. The video continues to circulate as part of the ongoing online conversation about approaches to homelessness in Los Angeles.
