NARCAN to be available in vending machines to reduce risk of overdose

CINCINNATI (WKRC) - A new study shows vending machines may play a critical role in the battle against addiction.

Harm reduction vending machines started on the Vegas strip and have grown in use nationwide.

This is one of the first in the Midwest to include the addition of NARCAN.

“I was in addiction for seven years,” said George Elias, Caracole Health Educator.

George Elias knows what a difference naloxone, brand name NARCAN, can make.

“I’ve had it used on me a few times in the past,” said Elias.

More than once he says this nasal spray, which reverses a drug overdose, saved his life.

Now sober, he works as an educator at Ohio's HIV prevention organization Caracole. During the pandemic, Caracole employees decided to make a harm reduction vending machine.

“We decided to implement a harm reduction vending machine that was no contact, low barrier, so people could access supplies to keep them safer,” said Suzanne Bachmeyer, director of prevention at Caracole.

One of those items is NARCAN. Thanks to a grant, those who call a number on the front of the machine or walk to register can get free NARCAN from the machine any time of the day up to once a week.

“The data that we have after having this machine almost two years really supports the effectiveness of the products in the machine,” said Bachmeyer.

Dr. Daniel Arendt of Ohio's UC College of Pharmacy recently published that data in the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association.

“So far, the naloxone from the machine has been used over 1100 times to reverse an overdose in the community,” Dr. Ardent said.

While they are still tracking trends, Elias says this kind of harm reduction eventually helped him get and stay clean so he can now help others do the same.

“I feel like they've saved my life and have given me an opportunity and a second chance at one,” said Elias.

While critics often argue that harm reduction encourages risky behavior, Dr. Arendt points out you cannot get someone into treatment that is not alive.