Every metro subway station in Baltimore has been outfitted with boxes of naloxone, the life-saving overdose reversal medication commonly referred to as Narcan.
“When we talk about making these kinds of harm reduction resources low-barrier, this is exactly what we mean,” said Sara Whaley, the city’s executive director of overdose response. “We’re removing any obstacle that may make things difficult, and making them easy and available.”
“We’re removing any obstacle that may make things difficult, and making them easy and available.”
Sara Whaley, executive director of overdose response
The purple and white boxes, known as ONEbox, contain naloxone and personal protective equipment. They also feature screens that play instructional videos, explaining how to administer the medication to those who are experiencing an overdose.
Thousands of residents pass through the subway stations where the boxes are located each week. Naloxone can also be found above-ground at Enoch Pratt Library and other locations.
The expansion of naloxone has been a crucial tool in combating the city’s overdose crisis, and a recent spate of overdoses in the Penn North area underscored the importance of continuing to make it easier to obtain, Mayor Brandon Scott said.
Although fatal overdose rates in Baltimore have dropped significantly over the past year, there have been three separate mass overdose events in Penn North since July. Most recently, 11 people overdosed on October 8.
No one died in the incidents, which officials have credited to the proliferation of naloxone and the swift response from harm reduction workers and emergency medical service personnel. Outreach workers have continued to engage residents since the incidents.
The naloxone box announcement came a month after officials launched the “Naloxone Neighbors” program, an initiative from the Mayor’s Office of Overdose Response to work with neighborhood and community associations to distribute the medication and train residents how to use it.
That program aims to curb in-home overdose deaths, which account for nearly two-thirds of all fatal overdoses in the city.
Baltimore maintains a list of locations where residents can obtain naloxone for free. A map of locations, including additional information about the medication, can be found at health.baltimorecity.gov/naloxone/naloxone-access-baltimore-city.