[Newsmax] President Joe Biden's administration will launch a project to test the effectiveness of "harm reduction kiosks," vending machines that dispense supplies such as injection equipment, fentanyl test strips, and medicine to reverse an opioid overdose.
"At a time when overdose deaths, driven primarily by illicitly manufactured synthetic drugs, have reached a record high, the Biden-Harris Administration has significantly expanded access to evidence-based prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery support services, as well as taken action to reduce the supply of illicit drugs like fentanyl," the White House said in a statement at the end of August, which called for an additional $3.2 billion for National Drug Control Program agencies.
The National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Drug Abuse is leading the project, which will involve dispersing harm reduction kiosks through rural Appalachia, starting in Kentucky as a "hybrid effectiveness trial to test the effectiveness, implementation outcomes, and cost effectiveness of a community-tailored, harm reduction kiosk in reducing HIV, hepatitis C, and overdose risk behavior."
The NIH notes that the kiosks "will be supplied with injection equipment, naloxone, fentanyl test strips, hygiene kits, condoms, and other supplies as well as an innovative call-back feature for facilitated referral to needed services by trained recovery coaches."
The National Institute on Drug Abuse told the Washington Free Beacon that the kiosks will also dispense "food kits, water, socks and gloves, feminine hygiene products, wound care, and resources/guides."
Similar machines have been deployed in various other U.S. states, including New York, Ohio, and Nevada, as well as in the countries of Canada and Australia.
I wonder how well this program worked in other test sites and how much they charged for the 'items'? |