WHATCOM COUNTY, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – In part with the greater efforts to combat the opioid epidemic, Whatcom County has unveiled their first public-access naloxone dispenser box.

Naloxone – sold under the brand name Narcan – rapidly reverses the effects of an opioid overdose safely and does not harm the person even if they are not actually overdosing.

The first of four boxes was put in at 5694 2nd Ave. in Ferndale on Tuesday, Aug. 13.

Whatcom County Health and Community Services (WCHCS) says they plan to install three more machines at strategic locations throughout the county. The dispenser boxes aim to provide discreet 24-hour access to naloxone for those that have no other way to access the drug.

Naloxone can already be purchased at pharmacies throughout the county and there are resources that provide free naloxone kits through the mail.

The dispensers come as part of WCHCS’s work to fulfill County Executive Satpal Sidhu’s order that he signed in April, urging the county to make a concerted effort to combat the crisis.