Leland Township Board voted 3-1 Monday to approve a request from the Leelanau Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition (LSAPC) to put a naloxone emergency opiate overdose kit dispenser outside the Leland Township Library.
Trustee Mariann Kirch was absent from the meeting, and trustee Clint Mitchell was the one opposing vote.
Rebekah TenBrink, executive director of LIFT Teen Center and Friendship Community Center, spoke to the board about the Leelanau Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition’s recent efforts. TenBrink, who chairs the group, said the coalition has set forth a mission this year to provide naloxone to Leelanau County at numerous different sites, adding that they have found locations in each township to place naloxone distribution boxes. So far, there are dispenser boxes at Leelanau Christian Neighbors, the Friendship Community Center, and Cedar River Coffee Company. The latest approval was for Leland Library, and the coalition is currently getting approval for other local businesses to have wall mount units that will contain the two dose kits.
The free Narcan nasal spray kits, which when administered, rapidly reverses an opioid overdose for 30-90 minutes, are stocked in old newspaper boxes. The 30-90 minute time frame provides enough time for 911 services to get to someone who’s down. LSAPC will have a total of 10 dispensers and 20 wall mounts that will be stocked with naloxone kits and placed throughout the community.
“We believe that this is very important as opioid deaths and overdoses have been on the rise since 2019 and this is something that you would really want to have on-hand if someone you love or even just someone else within the community happens to go down from an opioid overdose,” TenBrink said at the meeting. “Narcan is not toxic to anyone, if you were to take it, per say, with no opioid overdose, it doesn’t do anything.”
TenBrink said the coalition is prepared to host an informational meeting for community members to demonstrate how to use the kits and what to look for. Naloxone can be used to reverse opioid overdoses from drugs like heroin, fentanyl, oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, and morphine. TenBrink also talked about how there have been cases of fentanyl seizures in the county in recent years, including in 2022 when two Leelanau County Sheriff’s deputies were exposed to fentanyl during an investigation of found contraband.
“There are street drugs that have fentanyl cut into the drug. This is kind of an emerging concept for us in Leelanau County, but it’s certainly known at a large-scale level in the United States,” TenBrink said. “... They (Leelanau County Sheriff’s deputies) pulled someone over, there were some drugs and they actually touched the drugs, and they immediately overdosed and were sent to the hospital. They had Narcan on them, so they were able to administer it to each other… ultimately, they’re both OK, but this was a big lifesaver for them to be able to get the help they needed at the appropriate time.”
Township treasurer Shirley Garthe agreed that it was “a great idea,” but questioned if there was a better location in town where kit dispensers could be more visible. Trustee Mitchell also questioned if the library was an appropriate location, suggesting the fire station as another site for the dispensers.
“For me, I don’t see it as an appropriate place for it here (at Leland Library). I think a fire department in this instance would be…” Mitchell said at the meeting. “Now I don’t think it doesn’t have a place, I just think a fire department would be more suitable.”
TenBrink said they felt with the library being the hub for community resources, that it would be a good location in terms of accessibility and for people to find a dispenser.
“It goes back to that convenience and anonymity of being able to come and take it and go,” she said.
Mark Morton, Leland Township Public Library director, agreed with TenBrink and the coalition’s efforts at the meeting, noting that they’re seen as a community resource for all.
“Libraries across the state have these available and people may relate that to that,” Morton said. “Then they could come to the library to get this.”
