Program is part of a large-scale nationwide effort to prevent opioid and fentanyl overdose deaths

The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse has launched a new program aimed at saving lives. Forty vending machines will be placed strategically in zip codes where the occurrence of narcotic overdose is high.

The machines will contain free Naloxone and Fentanyl test strip kits. Naloxone is an opioid antagonist that binds opioid receptors to reverse and block the effects of opioids. The Fentanyl strips are small strips of paper that detect the presence of Fentanyl in different types of substances.

The Department hopes that people are educated about substance abuse disorders and that the public knows what life saving resources are available. Almost 300,000 Oklahomans report having a substance abuse problem, and about 90% of those who get evidence-based treatment report that they have gotten better.

Substance abuse is a chronic, treatable disease that people can recover from and the tools including the vending machines should make significant impacts in the lives of many.

Nearly a quarter of a million pounds of drugs have been seized this year alone according to the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, which is shocking but does not take into account the drugs that make it into Oklahoma. These drugs are now the leading cause of death of people in the U.S. under 50.