Vending machines are the latest tool for fighting opioid overdoses

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vending machines that have long been stocked with snacks are getting repurposed to distribute life-saving supplies to help fight the opioid epidemic.

A growing number of cities and local governments are making so-called “harm reduction” items, including the overdose-reversal drug naloxone, available for free via machines.

Interest in the approach is expected to grow after U.S. regulators recently approved Narcan, the leading naloxone brand, to be sold without a prescription. That switch allows the nasal spray to be stocked in convenience stores, supermarkets and vending machines.

Machine supplier Shaffer Distributing, which also sells arcade games and pinball machines, is one of the companies that has worked with U.S. communities to put the medication in machines even before the FDA's over-the-counter approval.