College Opts for Recycled Newspaper Boxes Instead of Vending Machines for Narcan Dispensers

A Michigan university has elected to use repurposed newspaper boxes to distribute Narcan, rather than larger vending machines – in an effort to distribute the life saving drug as efficiently as possible.

Ferris State University announced the installation in a recent press release, highlighting the importance of having Narcan widely available on campus and in the surrounding areas. 

“They’re a small unit, so they’re easy for people to find a place to put them versus a very large vending machine option,” Gail Bullard, the project director of the Central Michigan Recovery and Education Network (CMREN) told WOOD. 

“We were made aware of them from other groups across the nation that are using them and we found a vendor actually out of Texas that was repurposing them.”

Narcan is the brand name for Naloxone, a medication that quickly reverses the effects of an overdose. While it can restore normal breathing in a person who has taken opioids, it has no effect on people without drugs like heroin and fentanyl in their system. 

“Narcan saves lives, which is so necessary due to the rise of opioid use, including drugs like Fentanyl, which continues across the country, through direct or unintended means,” Bullard said in the press release. 

“Our area is not immune and Naloxone being readily available is essential.”

CMREN is a federally funded program that is collaborating with regional organizations to distribute the boxes. The state of Michigan is providing the organization with Narcan for free, while the federal government gave them a grant of $1.2 million, according to WOOD.