Free Narcan machine installed at Des Plaines police station

A vending machine offering free doses of medicine that can help people who have overdosed on opioids has been installed in another suburban police station.

Des Plaines officials on Friday announced the Narcan dispenser is ready for use in the lobby of the city's police station, 1420 Miner St. It's available to the public round the clock, seven days a week.

Narcan is the leading version of the drug naloxone, which quickly can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

The machine also has strips people can use to test for fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that has become increasingly deadly when used improperly or mixed with other drugs.

Police won't limit how many doses or testing strips can be dispensed at one time. City spokeswoman Maureen Stern urged people to "be good neighbors and only take what they need."

The machine will be maintained by the Kenneth Young Center, an Elk Grove Village organization offering mental health and addiction recovery services.

Elk Grove Village and Arlington Heights are among the suburbs that have worked with the Kenneth Young Center to install such machines.