Health & Fitness
SD County Vending Machines To Offer Opioid-Overdose Reversal Drugs
New vending machines are coming to San Diego County. Instead of chips or sodas, they'll offer a drug that reverses opioid overdoses.
SAN DIEGO, CA — A dozen vending machines will be installed throughout San Diego County over the next year, but instead of chips and sodas, they'll offer free kits of naloxone, a drug used to reverse opioid overdoses.
The county said in a news release Thursday that a dozen machines will be installed throughout the region by the summer of 2023. Six are scheduled to be installed by the end of this year
The county's Naloxone Distribution Program plans to disseminate 33,000 naloxone kits by June 30 of next year.
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Naloxone, also known by the brand name Narcan, restores normal breathing after an overdose and can prevent overdose deaths if used quickly and followed by medical treatment.
A spokesperson for the county told Patch no naloxone vending machines have yet been installed. The county expects to open the first vending machine this fall in the South Bay at the McAlister Institute in Chula Vista.
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“Naloxone is a proven life saver in overdose situations and San Diego County Behavioral Health Services and its partners are working hard to expand access,” Nicole Esposito, the county’s chief population health officer, said in a statement. “The enhanced distribution of naloxone into the hands of community members is vital in saving lives that might otherwise be lost to overdose.”
The vending machines come as the region has seen rising opioid overdoses over the last couple years, the county said. Preliminary data showed that nearly 900 people died from accidental opioid overdoses in the county last year. That’s 55 percent higher than 2020.
The vending machines will be available to adults at least 18 years old. Registration — and user — will remain anonymous, and the drugs will be free.
Anyone who wants to access the vending machines will have to first complete online training. Once completed, users will receive a pin to access the drug from the vending machines.
Patch has reached out to the county for the locations of the vending machines and will update when we hear back.
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