Free Narcan Now Available In Mecklenburg County Vending Machine

More people will have access to life saving tools like Narcan in Mecklenburg County. County officials unveiled a new kiosk stocked with Narcan, COVID tests and condoms at the Ella B. Scarborough Community Resource Center.

Debbie Dalton keeps Narcan on hand after her son Hunter died of a drug overdose in 2016.

“I have some in my purse. I have some in my home. I have it in my car. I’m never anywhere without it,” Dalton said. “It’s still surreal to me that a nasal spray could have saved my son’s life.”

Dalton now focuses on prevention and awareness through the HD Life Foundation. She was happy to hear about the new kiosks that will make Narcan more accessible to the public at no cost.

The kiosk is inside the Ella Scarborough Community Resource Center on Stitt Road near North Tryon. Mecklenburg County officials used some of the opioid overdose settlement money to pay for the overdose reversal drugs for the machine. Dr. Raynard Washington, Director of Mecklenburg County Public Health gave WCCB a demonstration of how the machines work.

“Put your phone number into the kiosk and it will dispense the products to you. There are limits of course, so you can’t empty out the machine,” Dr. Washington said. “So, the phone number really isn’t to track people. It’s just so that we’re able to make sure that folks aren’t taking more products than we have available.”

Dr. Washington says the inventory of the machine is 50% COVID tests, 30% Narcan and 20% condoms.

CDC data shows a 48% drop in overdose deaths in North Carolina comparing May 2023 to May 2024. Officials say the distribution of Narcan helps lower the risk of a fatal overdose.

“These harm reduction tools are critically important to in our work to fight infectious illnesses in this community,” Dr. Washington said. “These kiosks allow us to make those available to folks at a very convenient location.”

Mecklenburg County officials have plans for at least one more vending machine. Dalton says she’d like to see them all across the area.

“I can’t save my son, and it’s heartbreaking,” Dalton said. “It’s eight years, it doesn’t go away, but to know that somebody else might be saved and not have to go through this torture, that’s a good thing.”

There are plans to add another vending machine off Freedom Drive at the Valerie C. Woodard Community Resource Center. Officials also have plans to stock the machines with at home STD tests but they’re still working on how to track positive cases.