EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14/CBS4) — Students at the University of Texas at El Paso now have free, anonymous access to naloxone — also known as Narcan — through El Paso’s first naloxone vending machine, installed at the UTEP Student Union.
Recovery Alliance, a community-based recovery support nonprofit serving the El Paso region, installed the machine, which provides the overdose-reversal medication during building hours.
The machine holds 300 boxes of naloxone, commonly known as Narcan, and each box includes overdose-response instructions.
“The message to our UTEP students and the community is clear — saving lives is a collective responsibility,” said Eva M. Moya, Ph.D., LMSW, chair and professor of the Department of Social Work at UTEP. “Naloxone should be as accessible as any other emergency response tool. This initiative affirms that substance use is a public health issue and that everyone deserves dignity, care, and the chance to thrive. We stand with families across El Paso in choosing prevention over silence and action over stigma.”
The installation comes as El Paso County health officials said overdose deaths have increased from 141 in 2015 to about 220 in 2023, with most cases considered accidental.
In an interview with KFOX14/CBS4 on Wednesday, organizers said making naloxone readily available on campus is aimed at saving lives and reducing the stigma surrounding addiction.
“I think there’s a lot of stigma around drug use, especially in colleges, and having this vending machine here at UTEP might save a life, Marisela Tavares, Region 10 Naloxone Distribution Hub Project Coordinator, said. “So what we have heard is that fentanyl is big around campuses, not just campuses around the city. It could be unintentionally laced with fentanyl, sometimes intentionally. But having the naloxone vending machine here can smash some of that stigma and save a life.”
Be Well Texas, a statewide program at UT Health San Antonio, funded the vending machine. Be Well Texas provides addiction and mental health services across the state.
Recovery Alliance said the medication is easy to use, safe, free, legal to carry in Texas, and available to anyone during Student Union hours.
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