Vending machines throughout Denver have distributed more than 2,100 free boxes of the overdose reversal medication naloxone since they debuted in April.
Naloxone – known to many by the brand name Narcan – can save a person’s life when administered as a nasal spray during a suspected opioid overdose. That’s why the nonprofit The Naloxone Project has been on a mission to make it more accessible as a harm reduction tool both for active drug users and for anyone who may know someone it could potentially help.
The organization stationed its first vending machine at the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless in Five Points on April 1. On May 27, it opened three more at Denver Police Department stations. They are located at:
- Colorado Coalition for the Homeless Health Center at 2130 Stout St.
- DPD District 2 Station at 3921 N. Holly St.
- DPD District 6 Station at 1566 N. Washington St.
- DPD Police Administration Building at 1331 Cherokee St.
Denver serves as a pilot market to test the vending machine strategy, and so far, Joshua Jacoves, program director for The Naloxone Project, believes it’s a success. As of June 30, people had taken 2,100 free boxes of naloxone from the four machines. Each box or “kit” includes two doses, accounting for 4,200 individual nasal sprays.
While The Naloxone Project doesn’t track the number of individuals who use the machines, it does count how many times each one is opened. So far, the doors have opened 1,101 times. The most used machine is outside the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless’ Health Center on Stout Street. Jacoves attributes that to its location in a residential area with high foot traffic from at-risk people. It is also the longest-running machine.
“Anecdotally, nearly every time we stock the vending machine, no matter which one it is, someone comes up to us and shares a story about how they’ve already used a dose. Or we’ve seen our kits being used or have been used just lying on the ground,” Jacoves said. “That shows us this program is working and doing what it needs to do.”
The exact locations were decided using data about where demand for this medication is most prevalent.
In April 2024, The Naloxone Project began supplying Denver’s first responders with “leave behind” kits so that whenever they responded to an emergency situation, fire personnel, paramedics, law enforcement and STAR program professionals could distribute free naloxone to individuals they felt might need it. First responders tracked where they left kits and Jacoves’ team compiled that information to determine hotspots in various parts of the city.
The leave behind program built on a relationship between the two organizations that started in 2023, when The Naloxone Project began supplying DPD officers with medicine they could use to treat suspected overdoses onsite. Denver police were interested in this partnership for one reason, said spokesperson Doug Schepman: “Plain and simple, if it can help save a life, it’s a worthwhile partnership and effort.”
The vending machines are the latest initiative by The Naloxone Project to combat the opioid crisis where it’s happening on the ground. The organization first began distributing the medication in hospitals — in emergency rooms, then labor and delivery, and eventually in- and out-patient clinics — before targeting other groups adjacent to health care systems, like emergency systems and first responders.
“As we pushed into that space and we started with our leave behind programs, we knew from the get-go that this would be the first phase in a larger strategy of meeting people where they’re at,” Jacoves said. “We wanted to be able to collect that data so that six months, one year, three years, ecetera down the line, we could look at trends to pre-station naloxone where people need it.”
Going forward, Jacoves hopes to not only set up more vending machines throughout the state, but also “wall units,” akin to cabinets. His goal is to install up to 15 wall units and 4 more vending machines by the end of 2025, both on the Front Range and in rural parts of the state, where access to life-saving interventions can be delayed due to proximity or resources.
The Naloxone Project is also working with Colorado municipalities, health organizations and other agencies to equip first responders with buprenorphine, a drug used to treat opioid use disorder. While something of a novel concept, Jacoves said offering treatment to those who may be ready is one step toward building a statewide network of care to holistically address the opioid crisis.
“Pairing (access to buprenorphine) with naloxone leave behind and things like pre-stationed naloxone (is) to really be able to let agencies be this big one-stop shop,” he said. “If you’re only here and ready for harm reduction, we’re getting you on harm reduction. If you’re ready for treatment, we want to get you there, too.”
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