Fox News host Lisa “Kennedy” Montgomery on Monday pushed back against her network colleagues’ outrage over so-called “harm reduction” programs, which are designed to prevent and reduce overdose deaths by de-stigmatizing illicit drug use and addiction.
Notably, Kennedy took issue with former Trump spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany’s embrace of the Reagan-era mantra “Just Say No,” pointing out that “doesn’t work” for people who are already dealing with drug addiction.
During his HBO show Real Time on Friday night, Bill Maher—who has become a conservative media hero in recent months—raged against the New York City Health Department’s latest ad campaign encouraging users to test their drugs, avoid using alone, and take safety precautions. Additionally, he took shots at San Francisco’s similar approach to harm reduction.
ADVERTISEMENT
“OK, that’s the first thing it says. Yes, this is part of the problem of losing civilization. Shame is part of life,” Maher groused on Friday night about the NYC ad telling users not to “be ashamed” they are using.
“We do this to everything. Toxic positivity. ‘Everything is positive.’ Everything is not positive. You should be ashamed that you are using, that might help you to stop,” added the pot-smoking comedian and longtime marijuana legalization advocate.
Applauding Maher on Monday’s broadcast of Outnumbered, McEnany noted that “all too often” she finds herself saying the late-night comic “has a point.” At the same time, lone male panelist Brian Kilmeade said he’s able to use “two or three clips” from Maher every week on Fox & Friends even though the HBO host is supposedly “liberal to the core.”
The rest of the hosts then took turns railing against the NYC campaign, with Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner going so far as to say that “it’s almost like China is writing the talking points” as they’re “happy” to keep Americans “hooked” due to being the largest manufacturer of fentanyl.
“I read this one part and maybe we shouldn’t be doing this right now,” Faulkner added. “I’m confused. What does it mean to take turns? How does that help anybody?”
Kennedy, however, offered up an endorsement of the harm-reduction programs, which largely focus on education campaigns and overdose prevention centers that provide addicts safe places to use drugs under medical supervision.
“I’ll tell you. Unfortunately, I know people who have overdosed from fentanyl and it’s tragic. The point of these is to prevent more loss of life,” the libertarian host responded. “You don’t want people to die. Of course, we don’t want people using drugs that are going to kill them.”
She continued: “People are still using drugs. You can have all of the ‘Just Say No’ and DARE programs that you want, it’s not going to keep people from using drugs.”
Kennedy explained that one benefit of drug users “taking turns” is that others can see if what they are injecting is safe and react accordingly, especially if the drugs are laced with fentanyl. While the rest of the panel offered their objections, she further pointed out that the presence of fentanyl strips and naloxone, sold under the brand name Narcan, could be life-saving.
“Do you want people to not use drugs? Yes, that’s the ultimate ideal. But nothing that the government has done so far has kept people from using drugs,” Kennedy passionately declared.
“I prefer ‘Just Say No,’” McEnany shot back.
“That works for you and that’s great. For people who are already addicted, it doesn’t work,” Kennedy retorted.
She added that this was also “for teenagers who are dumb enough to try it for the first time,” exclaiming that “I hope to god my kids are not in that position, but if they are, I hope someone has Narcan and I hope they have fentanyl sticks to catch it.”
McEnany waved off Kennedy’s responses, of course, claiming there was still “no safe way to use” the drugs. Kilmeade then snarked that this was the same thing as “going drinking” making sure to bring “the paddles ’cause you could have a heart attack.”
Without missing a beat, Kennedy flatly replied: “Or make sure you drink plenty of water and eat protein before drinking so you don’t get sick.”
