Ashland County officials are looking to add another harm reduction vending machine in the region after seeing a decrease in overdose deaths.

The vending machines have become increasingly common in the northwest Wisconsin region over the last few years. As fentanyl-related overdoses spiked across the country, many health departments have turned to similar harm reduction tools.

The goal is to ensure that people struggling with opioid addiction have access to fentanyl test strips and Naloxone, commonly known as Narcan, to minimize the potential risks. Some counties have also launched opioid data dashboards to track overdose data and determine what harm reduction and prevention strategies are working, and which need to be changed.

According to an Ashland Daily Press report, the county has harm reduction vending machines at the Fire Department, Human Services Department, and the Ashland Smoke Shop. After seeing the decrease in opioid overdoses over the last couple of years, officials are now looking to add another vending machine at the Bad River Harm Reduction Center. County officials used grant funding to purchase the vending machines and supplies, and are seeking additional funding for the new vending machine.

According to the report, Ashland Fire Chief Stuart Matthias says the number of overdose calls has decreased overall, but often come in bursts now. He says the department will respond to a few overdose calls in the span of a couple of days, but won’t get another call for a couple of weeks.

The harm reduction vending machine at the fire station has distributed over 80 boxes of Narcan as well as a number of gloves and fentanyl test strips. The vending machines are available 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

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