Overdose is the leading cause of preventable injury death in King County, but an easy-to-use nasal spray called naloxone is saving lives. When someone overdoses on opioids like fentanyl or prescription painkillers, their breathing slows or stops. Naloxone, sometimes also called Narcan, quickly reverses the effects of opioids, often restoring normal breathing in 2-3 minutes.
Through strong community partnerships and innovative approaches, Public Health’s distribution of this life-saving tool to community-based organizations in 2025 is on pace to double that distributed in 2024. This work is funded in part through the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Overdose Data to Action Grant.
“Just like an epi-pen for someone with allergies, naloxone is a critical safety tool for people who use drugs. It’s a safe, easy-to-use medication that anyone can use to reverse an overdose,” said Dr. David Sapienza, the lead physician at King County’s Pathways clinic, which provides low barrier treatment for opioid use. “Making this tool widely available and easy to access shows people who use drugs in our community that we care about their well-being. When patients ask me for naloxone, it’s an opportunity to also talk about other ways to protect their health, including medications, treatment, and other resources that we have available to help.”
Overdose prevention takes compassion, knowledge, and action from all of us. National data showed that in 2023, a friend, family member or other bystander was present for nearly 40% of overdose deaths. This means that in many cases, overdoses can be reversed and lives saved if more people in our community have access to naloxone, know what an overdose looks like, and know what to do.
Lowering barriers through free, anonymous access
An overdose is a medical emergency. When someone isn’t breathing and can’t get enough oxygen to their brain, every minute matters. That’s why it’s important to keep naloxone on hand and easily accessible. Through partnership with Public Health, a growing number of sites throughout King County provide free, anonymous access to naloxone through vending machines, newspaper-style boxes, and opioid rescue kits that can be mounted on a wall like an AED.
Public Health’s five vending machines—located at Peer Seattle, Peer Kent, Compass Day Center, the Maleng Regional Justice Center, and YouthCare Orion Center—have dispensed over 10,700 overdose prevention items. Vending machine users reported using naloxone they got from a vending machine to respond to over 800 overdoses to date.
“We have seen a dramatic reduction in 2025 in the number of overdoses at our site,” said Veronica Prentice, Day Services Coordinator at Compass Day Center. “Before our vending machine was placed, we would have staff responding to several overdoses every month. In 2025, we have seen fewer than 10 this entire year. ”
In 2024, Public Health expanded low barrier naloxone distribution to 19 additional sites including housing programs, day centers, shelters, food banks, and other service providers to make naloxone immediately available in case someone overdoses. Each of the 19 locations installed easily accessible, anonymous naloxone distribution boxes—sometimes called a ‘nalox box’. Some sites installed a box on every floor, and others installed cabinets in common areas such as a lobby or laundry room.
“I almost never see anyone take a box and yet I restock both the internal and external boxes every week,” reported one program location. “We were able to administer to a person who was experiencing an overdose on site because of the ease of access. This program is saving lives.”
Increasing community knowledge
Since 2024, Public Health has trained over 2,700 community members to recognize and respond to an overdose and distributed over 1,600 naloxone kits at community-based trainings and events. These trainings equip staff at partner organizations and community members with knowledge and tools to respond to an overdose and talk to the people in their lives about ways to reduce their overdose risk, including available resources for recovery and treatment.
In this short video, Public Health Community Navigator Pastor Derek Lane shares what an opioid overdose looks like and how to use naloxone to reverse an overdose and save someone’s life.
Naloxone is available over-the-counter without a prescription at most pharmacies. To use your insurance to buy naloxone, show the pharmacist your insurance card and the State Standing Order for Naloxone. There is no copay for those with Apple Health. Many community-based organizations distribute free naloxone in partnership with Public Health. Use the Washington State Naloxone Finder to find naloxone near you.
Originally posted September 25, 2025.