Cambridge City soon will have its own box to distribute free potentially life-saving medication to reverse overdoses.
At town council’s Feb. 10 meeting, Cambridge City Volunteer Fire Department Chief Jeff Gabbard said he’d received a donated clear plastic “Opioid Rescue Kit,” and council approved the donation.
The box will be installed near overhead doors at the station, 127 W. Maple St.
Centerstone, which provides mental health services in Richmond and around the Midwest, has secured the box and supplies from another nonprofit organization, Overdose Lifeline. There’s no cost to the town.
Gabbard said anyone can anonymously pick up naloxone nasal spray, often called by its brand name, Narcan, to have available if needed.
“If we save one person, it’s well worth the trouble,” Gabbard said.
The closest box to Cambridge City is currently at Jefferson Township Trustee’s Office at 47 E. Main St. in Hagerstown.
The box will also include test strips that could help a person using drugs to know what they’re putting into their body and reduce their risk of overdose. Strips can detect the presence of fentanyl in various kinds of drugs (methamphetamine, cocaine, etc.) and in pills, powders and injectables.
Fentanyl is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Just two milligrams of fentanyl – the size of a few grains of sand – can lead to an overdose, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Because exposure to fentanyl can be dangerous to anyone, American Ambulance Association urges residents who find suspected fentanyl to consult trained first responders who have protective equipment rather than handling it themselves.
A map of additional free locations to pick up naloxone in Richmond, Connersville and New Castle can be found at overdoselifeline.org.
Sites in Richmond include Wayne County Jail, Wayne County Health Department, Richmond fire stations, Centerstone and Neighborhood Health Center at 101 S. 10th St.
A version of this article appeared in the February 19 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.