Nevada health officials are allowing the overdose reversal drug Narcan to be sold in vending machines in the Las Vegas area.
Officials are allowing residents registered with the state’s syringe exchange program to use a card to access the vending machines dispensing Narcan, a drug which is used to reverse and sometimes prevent opioid overdose, WJXT reported.
The drug has been used widely to combat the opioid crisis in America and was recently used to revive a Vermont state trooper who collapsed after falling ill from suspected heroin exposure.
“There are numerous kits inside those machines,” Krista Hales, who works for a local behavioral health center in the area, told KTNV. “The main goal of them was to be dispensing clean syringes for people who are engaging in intravenous or intra-muscular drug use.”
Hales added that because the drug is easily accessible to anyone, it can be used in a split second on someone who “could be at risk for an overdose.”
“It’s readily available to anyone,” Hales said. “I carry one in my car. And I have them in my house just in case because even someone who is taking their medication as prescribed could be at risk for an overdose.”
Officials say the machines will eventually supply other items, such as safe sex kits, pregnancy tests, and hygiene kits.