D.C. vending machines to dispense Narcan, fentanyl test strips

The opioid antidote Narcan, fentanyl test strips, coronavirus test kits and male and female condoms are among the items that soon will be available at six free vending machines throughout the District, with the aim of reducing drug overdoses.

The District joins Las Vegas, Chicago, Cincinnati and Puerto Rico in deploying harm reduction vending machines to provide around-the-clock access to people who are homeless, vulnerable to opioid abuse or wary of contacting community services. In Europe, Denmark opened the first community-based harm reduction vending machines in 1987, followed by Norway. Today there are hundreds of such machines in at least seven countries on the continent.