The opioid overdose-prevention drug Narcan is now available in vending machines in Washington, D.C.
The vending machines stocked with free naloxone and fentanyl test strips were placed in areas with high overdose rates and are meant to save lives, DC Health, the Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) and DC Fire & EMS said Tuesday.
“We’ve got to keep people alive so that we can get them into recovery, and these harm-reduction methods work,” DBH Director Barbara Bazron said.
The vending machines can be found at:
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- Engine #7: 1101 Half St. SW
- Engine #33: 101 Atlantic St. SE
- Engine #27: 4260 Minnesota Ave. NE
- Whitman Walker Health Center: 2301 Martin Luther King Jr Ave. SE
Another two vending machines will be installed.
American University Community Asks for Narcan Access
Days after a reported overdose at American University, hundreds of current and former students called on school leaders to make Narcan available on campus.
AU graduate Therese Wilson wrote an open letter to school administrators asking for Narcan access. The letter had gathered almost 300 signatures by Tuesday afternoon.
“All overdoses are completely preventable,” Wilson said.
She began to push AU leadership to provide Narcan on campus in 2017, when she was a freshman. An overdose on campus over the weekend gave her effort new urgency.
A woman was reported to have overdosed on campus early Sunday, but a mix-up regarding where to send help led emergency crews to the wrong place. A crew responded to 400 Massachusetts Ave. NW and found that the emergency was about five miles away, at 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW, according to dispatch audio.
No information was released on the woman’s condition.
An AU spokeswoman said DC Fire and EMS was called because a visitor to campus was having a medical emergency. School officials are working on making Narcan available, she said.
"American University is working with our community on the appropriate approach for Narcan on campus while addressing significant legal and regulatory elements under DC law,” a statement from the spokeswoman said.
