An itemized list for how Multnomah County spent $84,000 on smoking supplies

by: John Ross Ferrara

Posted: Jul 19, 2023 / 04:14 PM PDT

Updated: Jul 19, 2023 / 04:14 PM PDT

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Multnomah County Health Department has provided an itemized list of its controversial purchase of $84,212.93 in “smoking supplies” — including 31,000 straws, 90,000 sheets of tin foil and more than 55,000 pipes, which it planned to begin handing out to local drug users in July.

Public pushback regarding the highly publicized plan caused county officials to temporarily suspend the policy on the grounds that it didn’t follow “proper implementation protocols.” However, Multnomah County Health spokesperson Sarah Dean told KOIN 6 News that the plan, which used surplus funding from the county’s syringe budget to accommodate changing preferences in drug use, was outlined before county commissioners during a May work session.

“The board holds those public work sessions ahead of approving a final budget, which they did ahead of the fiscal year,” Dean said. “Board members often use these meetings to ask detailed programmatic questions. All Board members serving in May were in attendance during this portion of the work session when the health department shared their plans.”

Regardless of the board of commissioners’ current stance on the policy, the money is spent and the supplies are delivered. The itemized list of expenses obtained by KOIN 6 News shows that most of the aforementioned funds were spent on 55,404 smoking pipes. The varying number of stem, bubble, hammer and meth pipes cost the county $42,966.

Other major expenses from the order include $21,613 spent on 184,000 copper scouring pads and brass screens (used as pipe filters), $7,250 worth of aluminum foil, and $6,820 spent on rubber mouthpieces used to prevent the spread of bloodborne illness and surface germs when sharing pipes.

The county health department also attempted to spend $30,107 on 1,700 cases of chapstick to further prevent the spread of bloodborne illness among drug users. However, the supplier was only able to deliver 77 cases, dropping the cost to $1,389. Other notable expenses mentioned in the invoice include $297.95 spent on 20,000 chopsticks (used to install pipe filters), and a $5 educational pamphlet on “boofing,” written by social activist Sessi Blanchard, titled “A harm reduction guide for boofing — that is, the holy act of putting drugs up your butt.”

“People have different ways they use drugs, including introducing drugs through veins, swallowing, breathing in, snorting, or applying to other mucous membranes such as gums or rectum,” Dean said. “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. Harm reduction can reduce these harmful outcomes.”

KOIN 6 will continue to follow the county’s decisions regarding the distribution of smoking supplies as the story develops.