Marin County adds more naloxone vending machines [Marin IJ]

By Richard Halstead | Marin Independent Journal

Marin County is redoubling its efforts to get naloxone into the hands of people who need it to prevent drug overdoses.

Over the summer, the county added three new vending machines that supply naloxone kits free of charge, increasing the number of machines in the county to eight.

The county has also boosted the number of “nalox boxes” throughout the county to 13. The boxes, which are typically mounted on a wall, each contain about four to 10 doses of naloxone, while each vending machine holds 100 kits.

Naloxone, sometimes sold under the trade name Narcan, blocks the effects of opioids, which if administered in too large a dose can prove fatal by depressing the central nervous and respiratory systems.

“Naloxone basically sweeps the opioid off those central nervous system receptors,” said Dr. Matt Willis, Marin County public health officer. “The person will awaken sometimes very quickly and dramatically.”

Overdose is the leading cause of death for Marin County residents 55 and younger. In 2023, the county had 60 fatal overdoses, one fewer than the year before. Fatal overdoses in the county peaked at 65 cases in 2021.

The county recorded 463 non-fatal overdoses last year, up from 452 in 2022.

“In 46 of those cases, a bystander administered naloxone before an ambulance arrived,” Willis said. “That’s great, but our hope is to get much closer to 100%.”