San Mateo County Health posted an online map Friday, Sept. 11, showing where residents can pick up free naloxone nasal spray.

The medication, sold under the brand name Narcan, can reverse an opioid overdose within two to three minutes. It is a nasal spray that bystanders can administer before paramedics arrive, according to the county.

The map is available at smchealth.org/post/san-mateo-county-overdose-prevention-coalition.

The post comes as the county expands access through its Naloxone Stand Box program. The stand boxes are newspaper-box-sized units that hold up to 74 boxes of naloxone and include posted instructions. Local organizations host them in public areas for self-service pickup at no cost.

The first stand box was installed in December 2025 at Allcove San Mateo, a youth wellness center serving people ages 12 to 25. The Overdose Prevention Coalition, organized by the county's Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, is accepting applications from organizations that can securely house and restock a box.

The coalition is also working to install naloxone vending machines in eight mental health clinics throughout the county. A Narcan vending machine has been operating in the public lobby of the Maguire Correctional Facility in Redwood City since May 2024, dispensing free two-dose boxes to anyone, including people leaving custody and their families, according to a county announcement at the time.

In 2024, San Mateo County recorded 54 opioid-related overdose deaths and 121 opioid-related emergency department visits, according to the coalition. Thirteen of those ER visits involved people ages 20 to 24.

In early January 2026, the coalition partnered with SamTrans to hand out free naloxone at the Sequoia SamTrans station. Volunteers from Voices of Recovery and the H.O.P.E. Foundation helped distribute more than 72 boxes of naloxone, fentanyl test strips and overdose prevention materials.

Ronni Brown, coalition chair and senior community health planner with Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, said in a February county press release that the effort goes "beyond expanding access to lifesaving medication." Brown called the coalition "an important and necessary step in reducing the stigma associated with substance-use disorders" through education and outreach to youth, schools and other at-risk groups.

Organizations interested in joining the coalition can complete an interest form at surveymonkey.com/r/RMNMC78. The coalition meets quarterly.