Government

Michigan jail uses vending machine to dispense Narcan kits

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November 19, 2021

Inmates at the Oakland County Jail in Pontiac, Michigan can get free Narcan nasal rescue kits from a glassfront vending machine when being discharged, according to a detroit.cbslocal.com report. Narcan reverses the effects of an opioid overdose.

The kits contain two doses of medication and instructions provided by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

The sheriff's office is one of the first in Michigan to participate in a project at Wayne State University's School of Social Work and its Center for Behavioral Health and Justice.

The project is patterned after a Los Angeles program in which distributed around 30,000 doses in 2020.