The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office is attempting to improve public health and address the opioid crisis through a public vending machine.
In collaboration with Carolinas CARE Partnership, a local center for LGBTQ+ communities and people living with HIV, the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office is offering free Narcan, a medicine used to reverse opioid overdoses, nasal spray kits through a public vending machine.
The goal of the vending machine is to increase the number of people who have access to the drug.
Why it matters: Overdoses are up in Mecklenburg County. QCity Metro previously reported in September that nearly 140 people have died from drug overdoses in 2023, a 20% increase from last year.
“We want to encourage all people, whether they personally use substances or not, to carry the life-saving drug,” the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.
The vending machine will allow Mecklenburg County residents to easily and anonymously access the drug kits at no cost.
“This initiative serves as a pivotal step in our efforts to combat the ongoing fentanyl crisis,” Sheriff Gary McFadden said in a press release. “By facilitating seamless access to Narcan kits; we aspire to make a meaningful impact and save lives.”
The vending machine will not collect any identifiable information from those who get kits.
All people need to do to receive a kit is press the corresponding buttons on the vending machine.
The vending machine will be available 24 hours a day, inside the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Arrest Processing Center lobby area, located at 801 E. 4th Street, Charlotte.
