A new vending machine in Brooklyn is stocked with Naloxone and fentanyl test samples instead of food.
The potentially lifesaving products are offered for free at the intersection of Broadway and Decatur Avenue in Ocean Hill, where drug overdoses remain a problem. Health officials stated that a new approach was necessary.
NYC's First Public Health Vending Machine is Now Open
This is the first of four vending machines that will be installed in New York City communities with the greatest overdose rates. Users only need to input their zip code and select their desired product, CBS News reported.
In 2021, the city recorded a record 2,668 overdose fatalities, and 2022 is anticipated to be even worse. Elan Quashie of the non-profit Services for the UnderServed stated that these vending machine products are essential. His organization is responsible for stocking the vending devices.
Some Ocean Hill residents were opposed to the vending machine because they believed it would attract criminals.
Advocates have expressed the expectation that vending machine users will seek long-term care. When they are ready, they can communicate with the vending devices by scanning a QR code.
According to the health commissioner, the free, round-the-clock distribution is intended to reduce the record-high drug overdose rate in New York City. However, some nearby residents are concerned that the machine's positive intentions will misfire.
As part of its unveiling on Monday, Elon Quashie demonstrated how the vending machine operates. The vending machine contained a variety of healthcare products, such as nicotine gum, contraceptives, and secure puffing supplies. However, many of the items available were overdose protection kits, according to PIX11.
As he opened one of the kits, Quashie explained, "Every kit contains two dosages."
Instructions, surgical gloves, and two doses of naloxone were included, The New York City Health Commissioner, Ashwin Vasan, was present at the machine and praised its ability to save lives by making resources readily accessible.
Nevertheless, some of the residents dissented. Keisha Devaughn stated, "This is not needed on our block."
She stated that she had lived on the same block where the vending machine spent its first few hours for more than two decades. Devaughn added that she had witnessed frequent medical emergencies in the building, though they were not inherently related to illegal drug use.
Other residents have divergent opinions. Rose Meredith utilized the machine and obtained a standard health kit. Another neighborhood resident, Luis Mordo, shared Meredith's sentiments after receiving a health bundle from the machine.
The machine is the first of at least two more that the city intends to install in various locations. When similar devices have been installed in other US, European, and Australian cities, there have been documented decreases in overdose cases in the surrounding areas.
New York Drug Overdose Crisis
In addition to fentanyl test strips and naloxone, which can reverse opioid overdoses, the vending machine will contain hygiene kits, maxi pads, Vitamin C, first aid kits, wound care kits, COVID-19 tests, and supplies for smoking, snorting, and injecting narcotics more securely. It will not contain syringes.
Toni Smith, the state director of the Drug Policy Alliance in New York, stated that the vending machines are intended to reduce barriers to obtaining supplies while normalizing harm reduction as an effective public health strategy.
In 2021, the most recent full year for which data is available, 2,668 fatal overdoses occurred in the five boroughs. This is an increase from 2,103 in 2020. With 1,370 verified overdose fatalities in the first six months of 2022, it is expected to be the deadliest year on record.
Fentanyl was responsible for 80% of overdose fatalities. The substance is commonly used in medical settings despite being a lethal, extremely potent drug. It is approximately 100 times stronger than morphine and 50 times stronger than heroin, and it has contaminated the national drug supply.
The crisis has created a new sense of urgency for the city to implement harm reduction strategies, which seek to prevent drug-related fatalities through the provision of treatment and services - as opposed to promoting policies that emphasize sobriety.
The machine was distributed in March as part of Mayor Adams' mental health initiative. The plan's objective is to reduce overdose fatalities by 15% by 2025. The machines will be installed in areas where overdose fatalities are most prevalent.
Per NY Daily News, Ocean Hill-Brownsville had one of the greatest rates of overdose fatalities in 2021, although East New York is the neighborhood in Brooklyn most affected by this issue.
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