New York City officials have unveiled a street vending machine that offers free drug paraphernalia, including crack pipes, lip balm, and Narcan for overdoses.
The vending machine, one of four to be placed in some of the city's most drug-infested neighborhoods, aims to combat overdoses in the five boroughs. The device looks like a typical snack vending contraption but is stacked with what health officials say are potential life-saving tools instead.
The available goods include the overdose-busting drug Naloxone, commonly known by the brand name Narcan, drug-test strips that detect Fentanyl, and "Safer Smoking" kits complete with a heavy stem pipe, mouthpiece, and lip balm that can be used to smoke crack and crystal meth. There are also "Safer Sniffing" kits and random assorted items such as condoms, tampons, nicotine gum, and first-aid packages. People don't have to pay for the items; they punch in their zip code to get access.
According to Health and Mental Hygiene Commissioner Ashwin Vasan, the city loses a New Yorker to drugs every three hours. "And it looks like 2022 is on track to be our highest year ever in overdoses," he said at a press conference next to the first machine, which is parked near a nonprofit offering housing and other support for those in need. Vasan noted the increasing presence of Xylazine, a veterinary drug known as "Tranq" or the "zombie drug" that can leave users in a catatonic state and with conditions that eat their flesh off. "We're looking to stock these machines with those [test strips] as well," Vasan said.
Vasan said the machines, which cost $11,000, will be installed in areas most plagued by drug overdoses. "This is an important arrow in our quiver," he said of the vending machines. "It's not the be-all and end-all solution, but it's an important tool that says to New Yorkers, 'Hey, we are going to bring the tools that save lives to you.'"
Officials announced early last year that they were moving ahead with the pilot program as drug overdoses spiked in the city. According to Big Apple data, 2021 was a record year for fatal overdoses in the five boroughs, with 2,668 drug deaths. Although 2022 numbers have not yet been wholly compiled, health officials said the yearly figure is expected to eclipse the 2021 record. The stats show that the first half of last year alone saw 1,370 fatal overdoses. About 80% of those overdoses involved Fentanyl.
While the anti-drug vending machines will be new to New York City, Vasan said they have already been installed elsewhere, including in Philadelphia and Nevada in the U.S. and Australia and Denmark in Europe. "The answer to the opioid crisis is more," the commissioner said. "More tools, more education, more harm-reduction, more stigma-busting, more treatment. We are up against an ever-growing crisis and we need to get our arms around it, which is what we're doing here today."
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