Johnson County will place special vending machines in locations across the community to provide what officials said are potentially life-saving “harm reduction supplies” like naloxone spray, the medication used to treat opioid overdoses.
The vending machines will be located in the Coralville and North Liberty public libraries, at the Deadwood Tavern in downtown Iowa City and outside the Johnson County Health & Human Services building. All products in the machines will be available for free.
In addition to naloxone, commonly known as Narcan, the machines will dispense condoms, sharps containers for safe disposal of needles, gun locks in partnership with the local Veterans Affairs hospital, hygiene and wound care kits, and the emergency contraceptive Plan B.
Johnson County Community Health Educator Susan Viletta said the machines are slightly modified to properly dispense the supplies but will operate like any other vending machine.
She estimated installation of the machines will begin in mid-August, with the one outside the Health & Human Services building in place by late September.
Public health employees are looking at locations in the southern parts of the county for an additional machine that would serve the smaller communities there.
Machines are the first step in a two-part initiative
The county supervisors in March approved the two-phase project, which is being funded through settlements of lawsuits against opioid manufacturers. The board allocated $100,000 for the vending machines and supplies.
The county conducted a community assessment in 2024 that revealed “a lot of hurdles” for residents looking to access Narcan, Viletta said, which led her and county Chronic Disease Prevention Specialist Lisa Parlato to the vending machine project.
According to a presentation made to the supervisors in March, the second phase of the project, scheduled for 2026, will seek to “demonstrate significant and measurable positive impact on people using opioids or those who have in the past.” Using a $1 million grant, it will provide what the presentation called “wrap-around services,” including assistance with housing, transportation, job placement and training, child care and more,
‘You never know when you could be that bystander’
Viletta said a majority of overdoses on opioids and stimulants over the past five years in Johnson County occurred while another person was present.
“You never know when you could be that bystander,” she said. “Having (Narcan) in your bag, your car, you just never know when you could save a life with it.”
The National Institutes of Health describes naloxone as an “opioid antagonist” that is only effective on people who are overdosing and therefore cannot be abused or misused.
“It’s the fact that you have it,” Viletta said. “You have it in your purse, you have it in your bag, you have it at your apartment or wherever so that you’re ready if something does happen.”
Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Narcan, condoms, gun locks and Plan B coming in free vending machines across Johnson County
Reporting by Ryan Hansen, Iowa City Press-Citizen / Iowa City Press-Citizen
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
