Hardware

Opioid vending machine organization faces criticism

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May 18, 2023

A Canadian journalist has called for an audit of a nonprofit organization that provides vending machines offering free drugs to battle opioid addiction, according to an article in the National Post.

The MySafe Society, a nonprofit organization, has failed to provide government required financial reports, according to Adam Zivo, a freelance writer and National Post weekly columnist.

Zivo claims Health Canada provided the nonprofit $3.5 million in grants through its Substance Use and Addictions Program but that it only operates four vending machines that dispense the drug.

The article also stated that in addition to failing to provide required financial information, addiction recovery workers claimed the hydromorphone was diverted and sold to the black market and consumed by youth.