Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto, center, unveils the county's first naloxone vending machine on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. The Monterey County Jail in Salinas has installed the vending machine, which will provide 24/7 access to overdose prevention materials such as naloxone and fentanyl test strips, each with instructions in both English and Spanish. (Monterey County Sheriff's Office via Bay City News)

Monterey County has placed its first vending machine in its county jail that dispenses free access to opioid overdose reversal medication and other health needs, the Sheriff’s Office said.  

With the help of the Monterey County Health Department, the jail in Salinas has installed the vending machine, which will provide 24/7 access to overdose prevention materials such as naloxone and fentanyl test strips, each with instructions in both English and Spanish.  

Naloxone/Narcan is a safe and effective medication that can reverse an opioid overdose within minutes. Fentanyl test strips can help a user see if the drug is present in any drug or medication. Based on the results of the test strips, people can reduce their risk of overdose. 

The machines are stocked with 250 units of each item, the Sheriff’s Office said.  

The first vending machine can be found at the Monterey County Jail, 1410 Natividad Road, in Salinas. 

Other vending machines will be available at the New Behavioral Health Access Outpatient Clinic, 30 Pearl St., in Salinas; the MST Salinas Transit Center, 110 Salinas St, in Salinas, and the MST Marina Transit Center at 280 Reservation Road in Marina.

To mark the launch, the county Health Department will host a ribbon-cutting event on May 1 at 1 p.m. at the MST Salinas Transit Center.   

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.