Overview
- The county installed two outdoor vending machines that operate around the clock and dispense two‑dose naloxone kits, fentanyl and other drug test strips, condoms and hygiene items.
- The machines were placed outside the Howard County Health Department in Columbia and the Grassroots Day Resource Center in Jessup and were sited using the county’s substance‑use dashboard and overdose risk map.
- County data show fatal overdoses fell nearly 62% from 26 deaths in 2021 to 10 in 2025, but officials note there were 20 overdose deaths between June 2025 and May 2026, including 13 opioid deaths and 12 involving fentanyl, and first responders gave naloxone to 163 people in that span.
- Funding for the free supplies comes from the Opioid Restitution Fund made up of opioid settlement money, and the county distributed 2,351 doses of naloxone in 2025.
- Users receive items without payment and must enter only age, gender and ZIP code while QR codes on the machines link to naloxone training and treatment resources so the program can protect privacy while tracking local needs.