In his darkest moments, Jason Hall felt worthless. During his childhood and early adulthood, he said, there were times when he would drink too much alcohol, pop pills at nightclubs and, inevitably, do something or say something that would hurt people he loved.
Hall, 41, would never have thought that his life journey would take him from those dark experiences to potentially saving lives with his work refilling naloxone vending machines across Oklahoma.
Over-the-counter naloxone, known by the brand name Narcan, is an inhaled medication used to reverse an opioid overdose while it’s happening. Naloxone vending machines – which provide the medications for free – can help people access doses quickly and reduce someone’s risk of dying from an opioid overdose since, ideally, the medication should be given immediately.
The vending machines also offer free fentanyl test strips, small strips of paper that can test drugs for the presence of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that drives most overdose deaths in the United States.
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From California to New York, vending machines stocked with harm-reduction tools have been placed in areas where high numbers of opioid overdoses have been reported.
In Oklahoma, some of the machines are located along turnpikes, in casinos, on university campuses, at a library or outside fire stations.
A CNN analysis of state health departments finds that at least 33 states and the District of Columbia have naloxone vending machines. In some states, like Oregon, city or county health departments or local nonprofits might operate the machines without state involvement. Other states, like Delaware, don’t currently have vending machines but plan to launch programs this year.
The size of these programs can vary. Oklahoma plans to expand its program this year from 27 machines to 40. Other large programs can be found in places like Michigan, where Wayne County officials announced last month plans to deploy 100 vending machines containing naloxone.
When working with the vending machines in Oklahoma, Hall often reflects on his experiences to inform his work. As a senior field representative for harm reduction campaigns at the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, he leads community training sessions on harm reduction as well as helping restock dozens of naloxone vending machines for people to access anonymously.
“People’s reasons for using substances are as vast and different as there are different types of suffering. I grew up as a queer kid in a small town, and it was not a super cool thing to be in the ‘80s and ‘90s,” said Hall, who is based in Oklahoma City. “You’re basically told from a very, very young age that this is kind of the worst thing that you can be. You internalize that, and it creates a lot of depression and anxiety.”