COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – A new vending machine in Columbia is dispensing naloxone, a medication used to reverse opioid overdoses, and officials say it is the first data-driven machine of its kind in South Carolina.<\/p>\n
The machine, located at the COMET Central at 1745 Sumter Street, is run by Innovative Solutions. The South Carolina Opioid Relief Fund, in partnership with the city, is covering the $10,000 cost of the machine.<\/p>\n
How it works<\/p>\n
Using the naloxone nasal spray requires inserting the tip of the nozzle into one nostril and pressing the plunger firmly to administer the spray. Officials recommend calling 9-1-1 after use.<\/p>\n
High demand<\/p>\n
Christina Wildy, CEO of Innovative Solutions, says the machine is in constant use and needs to be refilled every other day. The medication is not limited to recreational drug users.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat people don\u2019t realize is that it is drugs we use every day. It could be the fact that your grandmother forgot if she took her medicine, then she takes another dose, and she experiences an overdose \u2014 this could save her life,\u201d Wildy said.<\/p>\n
She said she hopes the easy access can help eliminate the stigma associated with naloxone, also known by the brand name Narcan.<\/p>\n
Expansion planned<\/p>\n
Innovative Solutions already has plans to place another vending machine in Richland County.<\/p>\n
Overdose deaths in Richland County<\/p>\n
According to the Lexington and Richland Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council, 110 drug overdose deaths were reported in Richland County in 2025. The council said that the figure is among the lowest in the last five years.<\/p>\n
Feel more informed, prepared, and connected with WIS. For more free content like this, subscribe to our email newsletter<\/a>, and download our apps<\/a>. Have feedback that can help us improve? Click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Copyright 2026 WIS. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – A new vending machine in Columbia is dispensing naloxone, a medication used to reverse…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1061758,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4315],"tags":[5177,105,4326,95572,4429,291466,15483,16,15,291465],"class_list":["post-1061757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-medication","tag-columbia","tag-health","tag-medication","tag-naloxone","tag-overdose","tag-saving-lives","tag-south-carolina","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-vending-machine"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116844650142145291","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1061757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1061757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1061757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1061758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1061757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1061757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1061757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}