CHAPEL HILL, NC – Deaths related to drug overdoses continue to be on the rise nationwide and some local leaders are trying to change that.
Orange County joins five others around the state in making vending machines containing Narcan -a drug that reduces the effects of overdose- available to those in the community, who may be struggling with substance abuse issues.
“This is just another way for us to give them a pathway outside so that they don’t fall victim to that tragedy. when people leave our detention center as one of their most vulnerable times after they’ve been here for a time, their tolerance levels tend to drop” said Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood.
This drop in tolerance means it takes less of a drug to feel the effects. A perk, Blackwood says, is to have this machine in a public setting.
“Whether they were incarcerated, whether visiting someone here or whether they’re just literally traveling through the county and stopped to use the restroom” said Blackwood.
“So far we have had 15 get taken by some people. We don’t know who exactly, but they’re going out into the community” said Orange County CJRD Clinical Coordinator Allison Zirkel of the amount of Narcan dispensed since the machines were implemented.
According to the CDC, North Carolina has had over 3,700 overdose-related deaths in the last year. Zirkel sees this as an opportunity to make conversations surrounding overdose less taboo.
“There’s just lots of stigma that people can’t get better, that they’re not worth it, they’re not worth the effort, and nothing is further from the truth. They’re human beings” said Zirkel.
The hope is as inmates are released or those struggling with addiction in the community come into the detention center, they can come to the vending machine, select the narcan, and have it with them just in case.
“This is an opportunity for us to literally make a difference in saving someone’s life,” said Blackwood.
Picture Credit: https://upnorthlive.com/news/local/narcan-vending-machine-available-to-public-in-wexford-county-jail