PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (WCAX) – More northern New York communities plan to install Narcan vending machines to provide resources for people struggling with substance use disorder.
“The more resources that we can put into harm reduction substance treatment, anything in this field, the better,” said Bianca Snide with the Alliance for Positive Health, a harm reduction organization in Plattsburgh.
She says they have already restocked a new Narcan vending machine in Saranac Lake five times since it was installed in October. The machine also contains xylazine and fentanyl testing strips, free for anyone to pick up. Snide says the machines remove a barrier for those who may be hesitant about visiting the city police station or SUNY Plattsburgh, where Narcan is readily available. “A vending machine is more ideal because then they do not have to speak to anybody,” she said.
The Adirondack Health Institute in Essex County is working on getting a machine, making it the third in the region and putting Clinton County in a league of its own in the Tri-County Area. But Snide says communities outside the Plattsburgh may have a greater need. “I think somewhere more rural, like if you get out towards Champlain, Ellenburg, areas like that, or even if you go more in the other direction like Peru, places that do not maybe have resources right nearby or in walking distance,” she said.
Richelle Gregory with Clinton County Mental Health and Addiction Services says the county is not actively looking to purchase a Narcan vending machine. “The difficulty is the right place to support it and making sure we can maintain that piece of equipment,” she said, adding that increased Narcan availability overall could be a contributing factor to lower reported overdoses and deaths.
Clinton County Sheriff Dave Favro supports harm reduction but says he isn’t a supporter of safe injection sites like those operating in New York City. “Better time could be spent in think tanks to come up with other solutions other than injection houses and things of that nature,” he said.
Advocates say the best thing leaders can do is to continue to spread awareness about what is here now to help people struggling.
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