New York City ‘drug’ vending machines cleaned out in one day

Four “public health” machines, placed in some of the most drug-infested neighborhoods of the Big Apple, dispense free drug-smoking kits complete with crack pipes, mouthpieces, lip balm, anti-overdose medication Narcan, as well as other items such as condoms, tampons, and nicotine gum.

Drug addict Evelyn Williams told The New York Post that she loves the vending machine in Brownsville, Brooklyn. “They put it in yesterday, and it’s empty already."

According to the outlet, by 1 pm, a drug-prevention program worker was beginning to restock the machine and told The Post that the vending machine could need to be refilled “maybe twice a day, depending on which items go quite quickly."

“We have a lot of addicts and heroin users over here,” Williams said. “They should re-stock it immediately!”

The outlet reported that by early Tuesday morning, less than a day after going online, the only items left in the vending machine “…were a single Narcan overdose-reversing kit and two drug-testing strips.”

The machines alone cost $11,000 empty. The items inside are free to addicts who need only to enter a zip code to get their selection.

New York City Health and Mental Hygiene Commissioner Ashwin Vasan said at a Monday press conference unveiling the vending machines that future versions may include syringes to inject heroin and other drugs. The machines are an attempt by city officials to cut down on increasing overdose deaths.

City Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Queens) told The Post on Tuesday, “Our city should not be commodifying addiction, and anyone supporting these vending machines should be ashamed of themselves.”

She added, “The money the Health Department is spending on these machines — which are providing, among other things, free crack pipes to drug-addicted individuals — should be spent on rehabilitation and social services to actually help addicts rather than on items like these which only encourage their addiction.”

Democratic first-term Mayor Eric Adams, who previously campaigned as an anti-drug candidate, appears to have reversed course, and earlier this year his administration announced it hoped to have five drug injection sites operational by 2025. Two locations were opened by former far-left Mayor Bill DeBlasio before he left office.

In 2021, Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a law decriminalizing the possession or sale of hypodermic needles and syringes which led to the NYPD issuing a directive allowing addicts to shoot up in public.

Adams previously said during a debate in the 2021 campaign, “I don’t support legalizing crack cocaine. It’s devastating when you see what it does. I don’t support the legalization of heroin. I don’t support the legalization of those serious drugs at all.”

Vancouver, British Columbia, as well as other cities across North America, have similar vending machines. Yet, the city saw an increase in fatal overdoses after their installation and then began stocking machines with opioids.