Opioid Politics in Congress Casts Pall Over Bid to Cut Overdoses

Jim Duffy hasn’t worked around harm reduction programs for long, but he already knows not to rely on the government for help.

Duffy founded Smoke Works, a for-profit selling pipes cheaply to programs that give drug users overdose-reversing medications, clean syringes, and medical care—work that’s at the heart of what is known as harm reduction. The company over the past two years distributed 200,000 pipes to various programs that hope to connect drug users to health services.

Duffy wasn’t surprised when he learned the Biden administration — in response to complaints from lawmakers — last week announced that none of ...