ANN ARBOR, Mich. – A free Narcan vending machine is now located in Ann Arbor’s city hall.
It arrived on Jan. 19, courtesy of Wayne State University, and has already dispensed 34 boxes.
Days after it arrived on Jan. 24, an Ann Arbor police officer saved the life of a man experiencing an opioid overdose with Narcan. “The individual’s lips were blue, he was unresponsive,” said Sgt. Jim Anuszkiewicz who adds that patrol officers all carry Narcan with them.
“We may just have one or two overdoses a week and then there’s something we’re having one, two, three overdoses were responding to in a day,” said Anuszkiewicz.
In January alone, Ann Arbor police reported 20 overdoses. 11 times Narcan was used and of those times, Ann Arbor police administered five doses. In 2022, 196 overdoses were reported. Narcan was used to reserve 82 of them with police administering 44 of the doses.
Karen Field with Supportive Connections, a new group that directs people to social services is hoping the vending machine will destigmatize the issue that Sgt. Jim Anuszkiewicz stated doesn’t seem to be getting better.
“We’ve dispensed 34 doses, so that’s potential 34 lives that can be saved. Even if we only had a couple of boxes that went away it’d be worth having that,” said Field.
Narcan can reverse an opioid overdose but will not have any negative impacts on the individual receiving it, whether they’re overdosing or not.
There are other locations that have free Narcan vending machines. You can find them at the following locations:
- Ann Arbor District Library
- 343 S. 5th Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
- Washtenaw County Health Department
- 555 Towner, Ypsilanti, MI 48197
- Northfield Human Services
- 9075 Brookside Dr., Whitmore Lake, MI 48189
- WCSO Reentry Center
- 4101 Washtenaw Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48108