SAN DIEGO - A life-saving drug will soon be available for free through a vending machine.
The overdose reversing drug naloxone, also known as Narcan, will be available in about a dozen vending machines in San Diego County over the next year and some of them could be up and running by December. Tara Stamos-Buesig of the Harm Reduction Coalition San Diego tells NBC 7 it's about getting the life-saving drug into the hands of those that need it.
“What this allows is for people to get their lives in a space where they can make those positive changes," said Stamos-Buesig. "They can't do it if they're dead and everybody's life does matter."
Having Narcan readily accessible would help community members become first responders in the event they see someone suffering an overdose. But some are criticizing the move saying it just enables addicts to keep using without consequences. The placement of Narcan vending machines in various communities follows similar moves in other large cities like Las Vegas.
Last year in San Diego County there were nearly 900 opioid overdose deaths, up from 490 in 2020.
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