State pulls plug on free Narcan, fentanyl test strip vending machines

TULSA, Okla. — Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin, and 100 times stronger than morphine.

Just over a year after installing 25 free Narcan and fentanyl test strip vending machines across the state, Oklahoma's Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse calls the program too expensive to continue.

All the machines will be out of service by the end of the month.

On Sept. 16, it pulled its machine from the Tulsa Day Center, the site of the very first installation.

Day Center client Anna Stevens does not think removing the machines is a good idea.

"It has literally saved people's lives in here," she said. "We need it on hand in places like this."

WATCH: In Dec. 2023, we heard rave reviews about the machines.

Day Center CEO Mack Haltom said, "In fact, we used it last week. We saved a life in our building last week using the Narcan right out of this machine."

Sasha Teel with the Mental Health Department told 2 News, "All those homeless shelters, including the Tulsa Day Center - we are going to be leaving them the stock and continually providing them stock to have on hand. It just won't be in a vending machine."

Mack Haltom with the Tulsa Day Center told 2 News if people have to go to one of its case workers or its clinic to ask for fentanyl test strips or narcan it creates a barrier that doesn't exist if they can get it out of vending machine on their own.

"They gave us a sign with QR codes that people can use the QR codes to order it and have it shipped to your house, Haltom said, "but unfortunately a lot of times the folks we work with of course don’t have an address and so that’s going to be a barrier too.”

Teel added that the program was originally budgeted to cost about $5 million a year but actually cost $14 million.

She also told 2 News the machines had to be refilled an average of twice a week at a cost of nearly $5,000 for the product alone for each machine.

"I don't believe we filled it twice a week," said Haltom. "I think we were getting close to maybe having it filled up maybe once every 30 days or so, maybe 45 days."

Now, money that had been used for this program Teel said will go toward some of the department's other 400-plus community partners to keep narcan and fentanyl test strips easily accessible.She also attributes some of the high cost of the programs to vending machines that often broke down.

We've asked for additional information about why the program costs so much and will update this story with it when we get it.