(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Drug paraphernalia is among the growing list of taxpayer-funded perks given to homeless individuals in California, according to an undercover investigation by journalist Christopher Rufo.
Rufo’s investigation targeted the Skid Row Care Campus, an infamous public-private facility in downtown Los Angeles that provides services to the homeless.
In a video posted to X on July 29, Rufo said he entered the facility undercover and was able to obtain a meth pipe at no cost and with little questioning from staff.
As seen in Rufo’s video, a facility staff member said the center also distributes syringes, petroleum jelly, “straight shooters” (glass pipes commonly used to smoke crack cocaine) and oil burners (pipes used to smoke methamphetamine or freebase cocaine).
Rufo’s video also showed several individuals, many of them apparently homeless, smoking from what appear to be glass pipes. Other individuals were seen smoking unidentified substances from what appears to be either tobacco cigarettes or marijuana joints.
EXCLUSIVE: California is giving taxpayer-funded meth pipes to the homeless. We went undercover to get one. pic.twitter.com/ZUTmuHIHGr
— Christopher F. Rufo ️ (@christopherrufo) July 29, 2026
Officially launched in 2025, the Skid Row Care Campus describes itself as a “welcoming and safe space” and refers to the distribution of the drug-related items as “harm reduction supplies.”
Headline USA has learned that the center is a project of the Los Angeles County departments of Homeless Services and Housing, Health Services, Mental Health and Public Health. It also receives support from the City of Los Angeles, according to its website.
The federal government has also reportedly provided taxpayer funding for the project, bringing its total operating budget to approximately $26 million.
The facility is operated by the nonprofits Homeless Health Care Los Angeles, Social Model Recovery Systems and Wesley Health Centers.
In his video, Rufo urged the federal government to halt funding for the center, arguing that taxpayers should not subsidize the distribution of drug paraphernalia.
He said that while government officials defend the project as so-called harm reduction, Los Angeles continues to struggle with widespread drug addiction and overdose deaths.
Government officials, primarily in leftist metropolitan areas, have defended distributing drug-related products as a strategy intended to prevent the spread of diseases among drug users. For example, sharing contaminated needles can transmit HIV, hepatitis C and other bloodborne diseases.
Other cities that provide similar services include New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Richmond, according to multiple news reports.
