UPDATE: NYC Vending Machine Offering Free Drug Paraphernalia and Narcan, Emptied Within 24 Hours
Less than 24 hours after its installation, New York City’s first public health vending machine, providing free crack pipes, condoms, and Narcan—a drug used to reverse narcotic overdose—was emptied, leaving city officials determined to ensure a steady supply of clean drug apparatus for residents in need.
The Gateway Pundit reported earlier Tuesday that New York City had installed new vending machines in four of the most drug-infested areas of the city. While the machines contain easy and free access to Narcan to help address drug overdoses, other free paraphernalia includes crack pipes.
The overdose packet includes Narcan and drug-test strips to detect fentanyl.
The “Safer Smoking” kits contain a heavy stem pipe (that can be used to smoke crack and/or crystal meth), a mouthpiece and lip balm.
Other kits include condoms, tampons, nicotine gum, and first-aid kits. All the products are free of charge.
Although the city is providing the products of each machine at no cost to the citizens, the city will spend $11,000 on each vending machine.
The vending machine was intended to serve as an innovative harm-reduction measure aimed at reducing the transmission of diseases and preventing fatal overdoses. However, the high demand for its contents exceeded expectations, leading to a quick depletion of its supplies.
City officials promptly revisited the site on Tuesday afternoon to replenish the vending machine. Elan Quashie, the Opioid Overdose Program Director at Services for the Under Served, expressed their commitment to restocking the machine regularly to meet the demand. “We’re going to restock every day. Probably multiple times a day,” Quashie stated.
Daily Mail reported:
Each tray on the machine holds between 13 and 18 products, which are free for the public to take. Quashie, who worked for the nonprofit agency, carried the additional supplies in a Trader Joe’s reusable bag.
The words ‘poor choices’ were chalked on the sidewalk directly outside the machine.
The program director stood on the etched words as he unlocked the vending machine – which is kept at room temperature for the products.
Speaking about the restock, he added: ‘I would estimate maybe twice a day, depending on what items are going quickly than others.
‘Hopefully all items go at equal speed. Give it another week and we’ll have some trends.’
One disgruntled resident, who can see the vending machine from her bedroom window, complained that it should be put in the lobby of one of the resource buildings, rather than on the street.
She also said that it could be a hazard for children walking past, who may think the drug paraphernalia machine is stocked with candy.
Read more here.
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