FAQs

Through a partnership with Tacoma Needle Exchange and the Dave Purchase Project, Tacoma Public Library will be placing a Naloxone (NARCAN) vending machine in the lobby of the Moore Library. The vending machine is intended to provide free access to patrons and community members who have friends, family, or are themselves at risk of an opioid overdose. We anticipate being able to provide this service through March 2023, and possibly longer if additional funding is secured. 

Additionally, the Tacoma Needle Exchange will stock naloxone in TPL branches and train staff on how to administer it in case of an overdose on TPL premises. Finally, the Tacoma Needle Exchange will provide no-cost peer counseling services to patrons for 2-4 hours per month at up the Moore and South Tacoma libraries for the next year. 

NARCAN is a brand name for the drug naloxone. Naloxone is an opioid reversal drug. It is administered as a nasal spray used to neutralize the effects of opioids, primarily on individuals experiencing an overdose. Naloxone has no effect on individuals not using opioids and has no potential for abuse or harm to anyone of any age. 

Naloxone has no effect on someone who does not have opioids in their system, and it is not a treatment for opioid use disorder. It is used to reverse an overdose. Naloxone cannot be used recreationally, as it has no effect on someone who does not have opioids in their system. It attaches to opioid receptors in the brain and reverses and blocks the effects of other opioids. 

There are no age restrictions on the use of naloxone; it can be used to reverse overdoses in infants and children through elderly individuals.   

The vending machine is a new service.  

Since 2018, Tacoma Public Library has made doses of naloxone available to staff to be able to respond to overdoses happening in libraries. Our current supply of naloxone is provided by the Tacoma Needle Exchange. 

Tacoma Public Library has partnered with the Department of Health and Tacoma Needle Exchange to train staff to recognize the signs of an overdose and how to administer naloxone. 

There is a staff member in all locations that is trained on how to administer naloxone. However, training is not compulsory for all staff, and employees are not required to administer naloxone. 

The library has partnered with various social service institutions to provide crisis and social services at our locations. This is our first time partnering with The Needle Exchange to provide this service.

The naloxone vending machine is in compliance with the WA Department of Health’s Standing Order to Dispense Narcan. Naloxone is widely available, opens a new window in many pharmacies and other businesses across Washington state. In 2021 the WA State Department of Health issued a standing order to dispense naloxone, opens a new window to eligible residents, an opioid overdose reversal medication (citation, opens a new window). Eligible residents include those in a position to assist a person at risk for opioid overdose as well as those at risk for overdosing themselves. 

No. The naloxone vending machine is part of a grant that the Needle Exchange/Dave Purchase Project obtained and does not use taxpayer dollars to run. The library receives a modest stipend from the grant for operating costs, such as electricity.

This partnership supports several of our strategic priorities including Equity and Access, Cultivate and Engage Community, and being Responsible and Resilient.

The pandemic increased overdose deaths significantly, and public services like the library serve patrons every day struggling with addiction. We hope increasing access to naloxone will reduce unnecessary overdose deaths in our community.

Peer support services will help us fill an existing gap in providing social services and crisis support that we don’t have the training or resources for otherwise. Services will include crisis support, and connections to local resources, such as medical, legal, or job help.