A new vending machine outside Flagstaff Medical Center's emergency department is selling free opioid overdose medication. This is part of a growing trend across the country.

The machine delivers drugs like Narcan and naloxone, which can potentially save lives in the event of an overdose.

This is the second such machine in Flagstaff, after officials installed one in the lobby of the Coconino County Health and Human Services Building earlier this year.

Candice Kenker is the county's prevention program manager.

“The idea is that when people use drugs, it can be an inherently dangerous activity, and there are strategies to make it a little bit safer. It's not completely safe; it's not that harmful. That means no,” Koenker said.

Kenker said similar programs are becoming more common across the country and that research shows such efforts do not encourage drug use and can save lives.
In 2021, 84 people died from opioid overdoses in Coconino County, according to a report released this month. This is an increase over the past three years. More than half of the deaths were Native American.

Last year, nearly 2,000 people were confirmed to have died from an opioid overdose across the state.