As lawmakers in Sacramento debate solutions to the fentanyl crisis, public health students at Santa Clara University unveiled their own unique approach on Tuesday: a free on-campus vending machine that dispenses canisters of the opioid-overdose reversing medication Narcan to anyone who wants it.
It’s the first of its type on a Bay Area campus, with Stanford University expected to introduce one in a few weeks.
Students who helped lead the effort say its an important first step in addressing growing use of the powerful drug, which is blamed for one-in-five youth deaths statewide.
“SCU (Santa Clara University) is a party school, so drug use is something that we know happens on campus, off campus or near campus,” said Setareh Tehrani, one of the public health majors who championed the project.
School officials say that the vending machine is designed to solve one of the biggest barriers that students face in acquiring Narcan — its high cost. The drug, which is also known as naloxone, costs anywhere from $70 to $150 without insurance — a price tag that puts it out of reach for many students who live on a tight budget.
“The first thing is that it’s free, and it’s in a place that is widely accessible to students,” said Santa Clara University Assistant Professor of Public Health Jamie Chang, who helped lead the campaign for the campus vending machine. “(But even) regardless of whether or not students decide to take the Naloxone, we’re hoping that it at least sends the message that they need to take this seriously and that there are tools out there for them.”
Bay Area high school districts have also moved to make Narcan more readily available on their campuses, though some districts have lagged behind in getting their own supply. Public colleges in California, meanwhile, are required to distribute doses of Narcan at their campus health centers.
Students in the public health department of Santa Clara University have also started reaching out to campus organizations like fraternities and sororities to make sure they know how to get Narcan and other useful tools like fentanyl test strips. The powerful opioid, which is 50 times more potent than heroin, is especially dangerous because it’s often laced into counterfeit painkillers and stimulants popular with young people. Users often have no idea they ingesting fentanyl.
Fraternities in particular are top-of-mind to many students who remember when Charlie Ternan, then a SCU student, died of fentanyl poisoning while seemingly asleep in his off-campus fraternity bedroom back in 2020.
Charlie’s father, Ed Ternan, founded a non-profit called Song for Charlie after his son passed away. The group’s goal is to spread awareness about the dangers of pills laced with fentanyl. One of the organization’s major pushes led to March 9 being recognized as National Fentanyl Awareness Day.
Ed Ternan said he fully supports Santa Clara University’s push to set up a Narcan vending machine on campus as part of their own Awareness Day ceremony. But he isn’t sure if Narcan alone is the solution.
“There’s a chance that Narcan may have saved Charlie — if his roommates had been educated about how to identify an opioid overdose and reacted quickly,” Ternan said. “But in reality, the chances are small. His friends walked by several times, his door was open, and they assumed he was napping.”
Meanwhile, public health students on campus Tuesday were adamant that their classmates pay attention to the crisis, which claims the lives of hundreds of young Californians every year.
“People are more aware of fentanyl. We’ve talked about it everywhere, from Greek life to club sports to varsity sports,” said Olivia Pruett, a senior who studies public health. But Narcan “is only effective if people have it when they need it. This conversation has to keep happening.”
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