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.
🚨 LA is handing out FREE CRACK PIPES to homeless people, using taxpayer money.We went to Skid Row and saw it with our own eyes. pic.twitter.com/NRKLZY8yvO
— Steve Hilton (@SteveHiltonx) July 3, 2026
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.”…