Vine Grove Police Department installs Narcan vending machine to curb overdose deaths

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A life-saving resource is now conveniently available 24 hours a day from a vending machine in Vine Grove.

The newly installed vending machine at the Vine Grove Police Department is stocked with Narcan, a drug that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. The vending machine is the first of its kind in Kentucky, and the antidote is available for free.

The idea for the Narcan dispenser began after several months of increases in overdose calls for Vine Grove PD.

In 2021 alone, Hardin County recorded 46 overdose deaths.

With help from Communicare Mental Health and the Lincoln Trail District Health Department, the vending machine is ready to be used at the police department.

Each package dispensed from the machine contains one dose of Narcan.

Vine Grove Police Chief Kenneth Mattingly hopes that people who may be at risk of overdosing — and/or their friends and families — will take advantage of the resource.

"I want people to come here and get this and take it to their house, put it in their cabinet, put it in their bathroom," Mattingly said. "Friends, neighbors — whatever — if they need it, it's available to them."

Anyone can access the machine 24/7.

The police department says Communicare will make sure the vending machine is restocked frequently.