
How vending machines help states battle the opioid crisis: ‘You don’t know when you’re going to need these products’
CNN
In his darkest moments, Jason Hall felt worthless. During his childhood and early adulthood, he said, there were times when he would drink too much alcohol, pop pills at nightclubs and, inevitably, do something or say something that would hurt people he loved.
In his darkest moments, Jason Hall felt worthless. During his childhood and early adulthood, he said, there were times when he would drink too much alcohol, pop pills at nightclubs and, inevitably, do something or say something that would hurt people he loved. Hall, 41, would never have thought that his life journey would take him from those dark experiences to potentially saving lives with his work refilling naloxone vending machines across Oklahoma. Over-the-counter naloxone, known by the brand name Narcan, is an inhaled medication used to reverse an opioid overdose while it’s happening. Naloxone vending machines – which provide the medications for free – can help people access doses quickly and reduce someone’s risk of dying from an opioid overdose since, ideally, the medication should be given immediately. The vending machines also offer free fentanyl test strips, small strips of paper that can test drugs for the presence of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that drives most overdose deaths in the United States. From California to New York, vending machines stocked with harm-reduction tools have been placed in areas where high numbers of opioid overdoses have been reported. In Oklahoma, some of the machines are located along turnpikes, in casinos, on university campuses, at a library or outside fire stations.