Richmond deploys naloxone vending machines with opioid settlement funds

Jason Allen, policy adviser for opioid crisis response for the City of Richmond, said the city has deployed one climate‑controlled vending machine that dispenses naloxone, test strips and other harm‑reduction supplies and expects three machines to be operating within two weeks.

The machines, purchased from Intelligent Dispensing Solutions (IDS), are paid for with opioid settlement funds awarded by the Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority (OAA). Allen told attendees of the OAA’s Abatement Academy webinar that the city received an award of $147,847.11 for the project and that actual spending to date was lower after savings on procurement and in‑house stocking adjustments.

Why this matters: Opioid settlement funds are intended to support programs aimed at reducing overdose deaths. OAA Executive Director Tony McDowell said the funding derives from civil settlement agreements and is governed by Virginia law and a circuit court order from the Richmond Circuit Court. "It's a circuit court order from the Richmond Circuit Court that applies to the whole state," McDowell said, adding that the OAA evaluates proposals against statutory priorities.

Richmond’s approach and partners Richmond developed the vending‑machine project through its Richmond Opioid Task Force and its harm‑reduction subcommittee, with Health Brigade (formerly the Fan Free Clinic) as a key community partner. Allen said the city selected IDS for climate‑controlled, outdoor units that use cellular connections to report inventory and usage. For naloxone procurement the city used a vendor identified as Patagus, which Allen said saved the city money compared with other options.

The machines are stocked with naloxone, fentanyl test strips (with plans to add nitazene and xylazine test strips), wound care items tailored for xylazine‑related wounds, sanitizing wipes, menstrual products, small first‑aid kits completed with alcohol swabs and antibiotic cream, toothbrushes and toothpaste. Allen said the vending software prompts users for a five‑digit ZIP code (users may enter zeros if they wish), which helps the city monitor where supplies are being taken without creating a high‑barrier sign‑in process. "We want this to be as low barrier as possible," Allen said.

Sites, challenges and operations The first functioning unit is in Marshall Plaza downtown, near City Hall and a major bus transfer point. A second unit placed at a Southside plaza was vandalized (the window was smashed) and awaits repair; site ownership and limited onsite electrical capacity complicated deployment at the transit plaza the city initially considered. A third machine intended for the East End Library required re‑pouring a concrete slab and moving an outlet after site‑prep errors. Allen said the city has applied for three additional machines for the next fiscal year.

Allen described operational choices intended to preserve supplies for the broader community, including the ZIP‑code prompt to discourage rapid depletion of inventory. He said the Richmond Ambassadors — city human‑services outreach staff, including Spanish‑language speakers — handle restocking, and that supervisors control back‑of‑house access. Allen also said the city added a maintenance line item after early costs such as a roughly $1,000 glass replacement and expects to carry forward unused funds into the next budget cycle.

Legal and funding clarification During the webinar McDowell clarified that OAA funds come from civil settlement agreements and are restricted by statute and court order to opioid‑abatement uses. He responded to attendee questions about whether non‑naloxone items (menstrual products, wipes, wound care supplies) were allowable and said: "The funding is for the outcome that you're trying to get to. And so the outcome here is comprehensive harm reduction that includes naloxone, but it also includes these other items." Allen and McDowell emphasized that these are not general‑purpose public funds and cannot be repurposed outside the statutory scope of opioid abatement.

Early usage data and next steps Allen said the machines have not been deployed long enough to produce rigorous outcomes data but that the city expects to report 90‑day metrics. Early indications, he said, show most entered ZIP codes are from the downtown area and that naloxone is the highest‑demand item followed by test strips. Allen committed to sharing updated data with OAA and webinar registrants once 90‑day reporting is complete.

The OAA webinar also included operational links for other jurisdictions considering similar projects and invited local officials and providers to submit site‑specific questions. McDowell said OAA will post the PowerPoint, chat log and video of the session on the OAA website and email registrants when materials are available.