Narcan, safer drug use vending machine in Ohio has prevented overdoses

  • Nearly 13,000 safer drug use items have been dispensed since March 2021.
  • Narcan from machine reversed nearly 600 overdoses.
  • Vending option draws people who smoke drugs.

 

CINCINNATI — Punch a code into the safer drug-use vending machine, and get free Narcan. Or get safer smoking products, fentanyl test strips, or other things that help keep you out of harm’s way.

Nearly 600 overdoses have been turned around with naloxone products from this machine.

Nearly 13,000 safer drug use and healthcare items, from safer-smoking pipes to personal protective equipment, have been dispensed from the vending machine outside Caracole since it opened in 2021.

Caracole, the Cincinnati region’s nonprofit devoted to fight against HIV and AIDS, operates the harm reduction vending machine. It tracks the machine’s customer base and product dispensing. A report from March 1, 2021, to Sept. 30 this year shows an “overwhelming” response to the strategy, said Caracole CEO Linda Seiter.

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