Narcan vending machines springing up across the country
Vending machines are being installed in cities and towns across the US that dispense Narcan nasal spray – the antidote to fentanyl overdoses – as opioid deaths across the country continue to spiral.
In 2021, around 71,000 Americans died as a result of fentanyl overdoses.This year, 75,000 Americans have already died from the lethal drug.
The high number of fentanyl deaths is exacerbated by the fact that users don’t know the fatal drug is laced into various other substances including cocaine and methamphetamine.
The purpose of the vending machines – which are largely being paid for by non-profits – is to allow users themselves to gain access to Narcan.
In most cases, users are given a code from a local non-profit to use on the bazaar cnc machine.
In September, it was reported that the police chief of Vine Grove, Kentucky, Kenneth Mattingly, had to refill the Narcan dispenser he put outside of his police station seven times in just one month.
The town has a population of around 7,000.
Mattingly told on November 9 that he has personally administered Narcan at least twice.
Fentanyl related deaths in the US continue to spiral out of control
In September, it was widely reported that the town of Vine Grove in Kentucky’s police chief, Kenneth Mattingly, was regularly refilling the Narcan dispenser he put outside of his police statio
When asked about the reasoning behind the installing the vending machines, Mattingly said: ‘For my agency, a death investigation is taxing.’
A 2021 study by the University of Washington found that 94 percent of cases where Narcan is administered, the administration is done by users, according to
The Journal’s report also mentions that vending machines stocking Narcan also stock ‘free snacks, condoms and socks.’
Most Narcan kits include a single dose of naloxone, instructions for use, and a referral to treatment for substance use disorder.The machines hold up to 300 naloxone kits and is free for the public to access.
Julie Burgess with the Wittern Group, a 90-year-old vending machine company at the forefront of Narcan distribution, told WSJ: ‘They’re putting them in fire stations, jails, churches, places that are public.’
Burgess also said that the company is in contact with around 100 different groups that supply free Narcan across the country.
Funding for Narcan vending machines was included in the Biden administration’s $30 million HHS Harm Reduction Grant program which was unveiled in February this year.
Earlier this month, a joint effort between the Southwest Washington Accountable Community of Health and Beacon Behavioral Health funded a Narcan vending machine project to the tune of $165,000 in southwest Washington.
The above graph show the CDC estimates for the number of deaths triggered by drug overdoses per year
Drug users are given a code by local charities to use on the machine
Fentanyl binds to opioid receptors in areas of the brain that control pain and emotions.During an overdose, the brain is starved of oxygen, which kills off neurons
In October, a vending machine in a jail lobby in Wayne County, Indiana, Creech became ill after encountering fentanyl on a suspect.
Other local deputies and other first responders all intervened to rush to Creech’s aide.The frail county trooper was then injected with three doses of Narcan, which local authorities said stabilized his condition.
Medical experts assure the public that it is highly unlikely that someone can overdose on fentanyl by coming into contact with it.The drug is the most dangerous when ingested or snorted through the nose, but there is no known cases of overdose being caused the skin.
Fentanyl binds to opioid receptors in areas of the brain that control pain and emotions. During an overdose, the brain is starved of oxygen, which kills off neurons.