Kansas to become latest state to get free naloxone vending machines

Vending machines have become one of the latest tools in the fight against the opioid crisis. In the Kansas City area, the machines will soon be found in Johnson, Wyandotte and Douglas counties.
Free naloxone vending machines will be placed in several counties across Kansas by the end of the year.

The machines will be in Douglas, Johnson and Wyandotte counties in northeast Kansas. They’ll also be placed in Crawford County in the southeast part of the state, and Reno and Sedgwick counties in south-central Kansas.

“Our goal is really to eliminate as many barriers as possible to getting naloxone in the hands of people,” said Chrissy Mayer with DCCCA, a nonprofit that helps distribute naloxone. “So this is just … one more way to equip people with a lifesaving drug essentially.”

Vending machines have become one of the latest tools in the fight against the opioid crisis.

Residents can access the naloxone by simply putting in their ZIP codes. Fentanyl test strips will also be available for free in the machines.