Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office Vending Machine
I came across a news article which discussed a supposed opioid problem and how Mecklenburg Sheriff Garry Mc Fadden oversaw installation of a naloxone vending machine in the county facility.
After reading a recent article, I was intrigued with the concept of a vending machine which wasn't stocked with the typical sodas, candies and bagged chips we have come accustomed to seeing, but instead is stocked with an opioid reversal agent, called naloxone. The drug was approved by the FDA on March 29, 2023, for over-the-counter use, therefore no longer requiring a prescription to access it. Generally, the substance can be inhaled -or administered in other ways- and is intended to reverse the harmful effects of an opioid drug overdose. Instructions for use of the inhalant version may be found here.
I sent in a simple request for public records regarding this machine. Below are my queries in regular, along with answers provided by the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Department in bold (MCSO):
How many machines are installed to date? One
Does Sheriff McFadden seek more machines in the future? At this time MCSO is focused on the machine that is currently in the Arrest Processing lobby and will explore the idea of adding more if the agency feels there is a need.
How much did the machine cost? MCSO was not charged for the vending machine.
How much does the machine cost to stock? MCSO does not stock or pay to stock the vending machine.
Is the machine accessible to all persons in custody, staff, limited staff? The machine is accessible to the public.
Where was naloxone stored before the machine was installed? The naloxone stored in the machine is separate from MCSO's supplies.
How is success/failure of this project measured? Success is that the public now has a central location they can go if they feel they need a supply of naloxone.
How is naloxone use tracked; Please provide a usage log. MCSO does not track the usage of naloxone from the vending machine.
How long is the shelf life for naloxone? This question would be best suited for our partners Carolinas CARE Partnership.
How does County Government staff know when naloxone is consumed from the vending machine? MCSO cannot track if naloxone from the vending machine is consumed.
What other steps are taken once naloxone is taken from the machine and used in the facility; What other lifesaving methods occur (hospitalization, paramedics, SOP, incident reports originated)? Please attach incident reports. The naloxone in the vending machine is not used in the facility and we have not had any cases where it has had to be used within the arrest processing lobby or the detention center lobby.
There appears to be a discrepancy in the information sent back to me from the MCSO in comparison to the media article. For instance, the news article stated:
"McFadden oversaw the installation of a vending machine inside the county detention center that distributes naloxone, and said staff used the life-saving drug to reverse more than 27 opioid overdoses inside the jail."
Whereas the MCSO reported back to me:
The naloxone in the vending machine is not used in the facility and we have not had any cases where it has had to be used within the arrest processing lobby or the detention center lobby.
I really have difficulty understanding why an addict may want to come into a police department to acquire a free naloxone inhalant. I can see the ease in grabbing a few on your way out after serving your time, I suppose. Why isn’t the drug simply made widely available everywhere instead of in MCSO? If the government was never involved in. There doesn’t seem to be any way to really track success of this project at this time.
Sometimes I’ll admit my curiosity gets the best of me. So, I sent more queries. One to MCSO and one to County. It’s my preference MCSO expand on what appeared to me as inaccurate numbers related to naloxone usage counts. I simply shot off a request to the Mecklenburg County Government to inquire about the costs, which were laid out in my request to MCSO, but the staff response was unhelpful.
I also decided to see how readily available and affordable naloxone would be, since after all we are plagued with the so-called opioid crisis which many left-leaning politicians seem to keep chatting about. Here’s what I found in my own community. Not only was the inhalant unavailable on the aisles of Walgreens in my county, but it was oddly placed with tobacco, behind the cash registers. Maybe you can locate it, proximal to the Black and Milds.
This would not be an impulse buy for me obviously at this price. I am too cheap to even buy the brand name adrenaline auto-injector for my bee venom allergy.
Since we are now over one year out from the FDA decision, I wonder how much longer we will have to wait for supplies to increase, while prices drop on this product. I feel it never should have needed a doctor’s authorization to begin with (I feel the same about the previously mentioned adrenaline auto-injector)
Should anything interesting turn up with the government agencies mentioned above, I’ll be sure to share in a future post, or audio clip.