This article discusses harm reduction-based distribution of the opioid antagonist, naloxone, in county jails through the use of vending machines, and highlights three examples of states that have employed this method.
This document is part of a series highlighting naloxone distribution approaches for Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP) grantees with programs for justice-involved populations. This article focuses specifically on the efforts to combat the overdose crisis by facilitating distribution of naloxone to reduce overdose deaths in jails, which have emerged as a critical overdose prevention touchpoint with more than 100 times higher rates of overdose than among the general population. Vending machines have recently emerged as a strategy for widespread distribution of naloxone to detainees released from jail facilities, and those machines can be customized to provide naloxone and other supplies in a secure, organized, and stigma-free manner. The article highlights three examples of states that have facilitated naloxone distribution efforts through county jail facilities; it lists next steps for jurisdictions; and discusses the process through which states can support naloxone distribution, and the barriers to and facilitators of distributing naloxone through vending machines in jail facilities. The examples provided in the article are: Michigan Department of Health and Human Services; Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction; and the Regional Judicial Opioid Initiative (RJOI), which includes judicial leaders and court stakeholders from Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia.