The first free harm reduction vending machine is ready for use in Palm Springs

On Thursday, DAP Health installed the first harm reduction vending machine in a popular downtown Palm Springs Nightclub, Hunters.

Currently, the vending machine offers Narcan, the brand name for Naloxone, a nasal spray that can temporarily reverse opioid overdoses. This is a vital, proven tool for saving lives in the face of the fentanyl crisis. There are multiple items that a person can get for free.

Free syringes: In-depth look at Palm Springs’ harm reduction program

DAP Health Harm Reduction Vending Machine Contents

Red-Dotted Brown Bag 1 (Booty Bump Kit) 

• 2 cookers
• 2 sterile water/saline 
• 2 personal lubricant packets
• 2 needleless syringes 
• 2 benzalkonium chloride towelettes
• 1 paperclip
• 1 instruction sheet
• 1 DAP Health harm reduction program mobile and brick-and-mortar location card 

 Yellow-Dotted Brown Bag 2 (Fentanyl Testing Kit)     

• 2 testing strips
• 2 cookers
• 2 sterile water/saline
• 1 instruction sheet
• 1 DAP Health harm reduction program mobile and brick-and-mortar location card

Blue-Dotted Brown Bag 3 (GHB Safer-Use Kit) 

• 2 oral syringes
• 1 plastic bottle cap
• 1 packet of fizzy drink mix
• 1 emergency card
• 1 instruction sheet
• 1 DAP Health harm reduction program mobile and brick-and-mortar location card 

Green-Dotted Brown Bag 4 (Safer-Snorting Kit)   

• 2 straws
• 1 plastic card 
• 1 plastic razor
• 2 sterile water/saline
• 1 tiny spoon 
• 2 alcohol wipes
• 1 personal lubricant packet
• 1 instruction sheet
• 1 DAP Health harm reduction program mobile and brick-and-mortar location card 

 Orange-Dotted Brown Box (HIV Self-Testing Kit) 

•  1 kit

Data is collected anonymously from every person who uses the machine to get products.

The DAP team says this is only one component of their Harm Reduction Program. There are mobile units that travel throughout the valley.

DAP Health meets people where they are. At various locations throughout the Coachella Valley, its harm reduction team provides: 

• Free HIV, STI, and hep C testing. 
• New syringes to reduce HIV and Hep C transmission. 
• Other harm reduction items include GHB safer-use kits, safer-snorting kits, safer-smoking kits, new cotton, cookers, tourniquets, and other injecting supplies. 
• Safer-sex kits (condoms, lube). 
• Fentanyl and xylazine strips for testing drugs before use to decrease the likelihood of overdose. 
• Narcan (Naloxone) to help reverse the potentially fatal effects of opioid overdose. 

Statement from Riverside University Health System-Public Health:

"In general Public Health is supportive of harm reduction efforts, but at this time we do not have enough information on this product to comment on it specifically."

- Jose Arballo Jr., Senior Public Information Specialist for Riverside University Health System-Public Health

Statement from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation:

Harm reduction is a necessary part of an effective public health plan, and making resources like Narcan and testing kits readily available saves lives. Harm reduction is just one piece of a bigger canvas of recovery services and options for people struggling with substance use. Wherever there’s harm reduction, we should also be empowering people to access treatment and recovery services. In the end, we want to help people whenever possible based on their individual needs and always see their potential for hope, recovery and well-being.