# Plain Language Summary: The Crack is Whack Act

This bill prevents the federal government from spending taxpayer money on injection centers—facilities where people can use drugs under medical supervision. The law blocks federal funding in three ways: the government can't directly run or staff these centers, it can't give money to states, cities, tribes, or private organizations that operate them, and it can't use federal funds to buy drug paraphernalia like needles or pipes for these facilities.

The bill is based on an existing federal law called the "Crack House Statute," which makes it illegal to knowingly operate a place where people use controlled drugs. By tying this to federal funding, the bill essentially says that any injection center operating under that law can't receive any federal money. This affects harm reduction programs—services designed to reduce the dangers of drug use by providing clean needles, medical supervision, and overdose prevention—if they operate as injection centers.

The practical impact depends on how strictly the law is enforced. Some cities and states have opened or considered opening supervised injection sites as a public health strategy to reduce overdose deaths and disease transmission. This bill would cut off federal funding to those programs and potentially prevent new ones from being established with federal money. It could affect public health departments, nonprofits, and local governments that receive federal grants, forcing them to choose between operating these facilities with only state or local funding or shutting them down entirely.

Crack is Whack Act

Rep. Malliotakis, Nicole [R-NY-11]

Crack is Whack Act This bill prohibits the use of federal funds to operate or control an injection center (i.e., a medically supervised injection site) in violation of a federal statute commonly known as the Crack House Statute. The statute generally prohibits making facilities available for the purpose of unlawfully using a controlled substance. The bill also prohibits (1) federal funds from being made available to any state, local, tribal, or private entity that operates or controls such an injection center; and (2) the use of federal funds by a federal agency to purchase or provide any drug paraphernalia directly or indirectly through grants or other assistance.