Over $14 million spent to operate Narcan vending machines, with many still unused
OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — It was supposed to be a game-changer for tackling Oklahoma's opioid epidemic, vending machines all around the state, dispensing free life-saving Narcan and fentanyl test strips.
Days ago, the agency announced they're pulling those machines.
But as our FOX 25 investigation found, some of those machines that you paid for have never seen the light of day.
A multi-million dollar rollout ramped up last summer with a flashy campaign and pricey media blitz to get the word out and end the stigma.
The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) called it the largest program of its kind in the U.S., offering free Narcan and fentanyl test strips, in part, from high-tech vending machines placed in dozens of locations across Oklahoma.
Oklahoma taxpayers spent $255,024 on 43 of those machines.
But through an Open Records request, FOX 25 learned 18 of those machines are sitting, unused, in a warehouse.
Two of the most expensive machines, at $12,000 each, have never been taken out of the box.
Photos of the vending machines in the warehouse turned up in an internal agency memo.
"All of the machines came under previous leadership," said Sasha Teel, Chief of Staff at ODMHSAS.
Two days after we questioned the agency and sat down with Teel to get answers, ODMHSAS announced all the machines were being pulled.
"The machines themselves were not the big cost," said Teel, who explained the big cost to taxpayers came in delivering the machines and keeping them working and fully stocked.
"We thought it was only going to be about 4 to 7 million to operate these annually," she said. "First year, it was over double."
Teel says the state spent over $14 million to operate just 25 of the machines, and the agency wasn't getting the data back to show the products were getting into the hands of those who need them the most.
"What's going to happen to the machines that are now sitting there?" FOX 25 asked Teel. "We are still assessing," she answered.
"Our goal is to really look, as an agency, and ask where do we really need to invest these dollars," said Teel.
Oklahoma already delivers these products right to Oklahomans' doors through okimready.org. Teel says last year, they mailed out 100-thousand fentanyl test strips and 150 thousand naloxone kits.
The agency also provides them to 400 partners across the state, and they're available at hospitals, schools, prisons, and law enforcement offices.
"We are really aimed at cost-effectiveness and getting that product in the hands of all Oklahomans," said Teel. "And we want to make sure we are doing that the right way."
The whole campaign included paying an outside firm, Ghost, to handle much of the communications, advertising, and media purchases.
FOX 25 looked at invoices from the past 4 years and found the state paid $7,445,293.52 to Ghost.
The Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services says it's now re-evaluating that kind of spending, hoping to do more of the work in-house.
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