How Vending Machines Can Save Lives in Substance Abuse Crisis
“We lost over 500 people in D.C. last year to overdoses, both people who are intentionally using opioids and people whose drugs are laced with opioids who don’t know it,” says Alexandra Bradley, the outreach and community engagement manager for the D.C.-based harm reduction organization HIPS, Inc., which serves communities impacted by sex work and substance abuse.“We’ve seen fentanyl show up in cocaine and methamphetamine and other drugs, which are stimulants,” notes Bradley.