What could go wrong? Vancouver to test opioid vending machines to help fight opioid addiction

Canada, WTF?

Vancouver introduces world's first opioid vending machine in attempt to curb overdose deaths https://t.co/83yWMGyJ8H

— Newsweek (@Newsweek) January 20, 2020

Nope, not The Onion:

Is this The Onion?

— Gunnar Miken ??✌️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@miken4273) January 20, 2020

From Newsweek:

The machine is a pilot program of the University of British Columbia (UBC) MySafe project. It was first launched in Vancouver in December, according to a Friday report from Global News. The machine, which has been described as resembling an 800-pound ATM, dispenses tablets of the powerful painkiller hydromorphone, also known under the brand name Dilaudid. The drugs are distributed to previously screened opioid users identified using biometric technology.

“You access this machine through biometrics, so it reads the vein pattern on the palm of your hand,” said Dr. Mark Tyndall, UBC professor and MySafe lead, in a video explaining the machine. “You just put your hand up to the machine, it welcomes you and dispenses the drug in a little box in the bottom, and you take them and leave.”

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This sounds like a bad idea just to automate the process of treating addicts with controlled opioid doses:

File this under "What could possibly go wrong?" https://t.co/jZmWGipY2O

— Charlie Richards (@CharlieAtSalem) January 20, 2020

Future tweet:

How long until someone steals whole machine? Ridiculous.

— Rick Wright (@RickWri55004378) January 20, 2020

And not only that, why wouldn’t other criminals just watch the opioid ATM like they do regular ATMs and then steal the drugs from the addict?

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