CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A new life-saving resource has arrived in the Coastal Bend — and it's as simple as pushing a button.
Located outside the South Texas Substance Abuse Recovery Services (STSARS) building at 907 Antelope Street, the region’s first and only Narcan vending machine is now available to the public — completely free and accessible 24/7.
The bright blue machine is stocked with Narcan nasal spray, a fast-acting medication that reverses opioid overdoses in minutes. And according to neighbors and health officials, its arrival couldn’t be more urgent.
For some in the area, the presence of the machine offers peace of mind — especially for those who rather be safe than sorry.
“I don’t do drugs I don’t want to mess with any of that but other people around me do and like I said people are never going to stop doing drugs it’s unfortunate. Its important to have those safety measures for those people that do,” said resident of Corpus Christi Saffron Williams.
According to the CDC, an estimated 77,648 drug overdose deaths occurred in the U.S. between March 2024 and March 2025. Opiate Program Director at STSARS Wave Vandever said the key to reversing this trend starts with accessibility.
“The fact the matter is the more Narcan is out in the street the less people are going to die,” said Vandever.
The vending machine was placed this week, and already, many of the doses have been taken — a clear sign of both demand and need.
Each person is allowed to take up to two doses. Instructions are posted behind the box and accessible through a QR code on the machine for those unfamiliar with how to use Narcan. He said the process is simple.
“You're going to lay the person on their back, tilt their head back, take the tip of this nasal spray, stick to your fingertips is touching the nostrils and you're going to push the plunger,” said Vandever.
Vandever says it’s not just people with addiction who may be at risk — and that’s why Narcan should be as common as first aid kits.
“An elderly person who forgets that they take their medications so they take more and they forgot they take it and they take more and they overdose. It could be a child that happens to take their parents pill on the ground or something and takes it. And again it can be teenage experimenting,” he said.
The ultimate goal is to keep the machine stocked regularly and make Narcan as widely available as possible.
While it’s a small step, STSARS and advocates say it’s a powerful one — one that could save lives, quietly, in the moments that matter most.
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