By Peter Currier
The Sun, Lowell, Mass.
BILLERICA, Mass. — It has been one year since the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office installed a naloxone vending machine at the Middlesex Jail & House of Correction, and officials said the machine has been used dozens of times.
The unconventional vending machine was installed in December 2024 to provide free naloxone kits with two doses each to people visiting and working at the facility. Naloxone, commonly known by the brand name Narcan, is an overdose-reversal medication that can stop a possibly fatal opioid drug overdose.
The drug has long been a tool kept by law enforcement and emergency responders as the opioid epidemic began resulting in an increasing number of overdoses, many of which would be fatal. MSO staff members have had access to naloxone since 2016. Since the vending machine was installed, it has been used to access 205 naloxone kits.
“Each of the 205 kits shared with our community represents a potential life saved,” said Middlesex Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian. “The continued use of the naloxone vending machine shows we are removing unnecessary barriers to this critical resource. We will do everything we can to support and care for those struggling with substance use – whether they be our visitors, agency partners, coworkers, or their loved ones.”
At the House of Correction in Billerica, more than 40% of incarcerated persons have been diagnosed with some sort of substance-use disorder. The addition of the vending machine for overdose reversal drugs is considered an extension of the MSO Medication Assisted Treatment and Directed Opioid Recovery program.
The machine can be accessed anonymously at the MSO’s Visitor Center in Billerica, where it shows instructions on how to administer naloxone in the event of somebody else having an overdose.
“By arming the loved ones of individuals with an opioid use disorder with naloxone, we are empowering people with a life-saving tool to deploy in the critical moments following an overdose,” said Koutoujian. “Just as we would with any first aid material, we are committed to making sure people are educated in its emergency use until first responders can arrive.”
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