Testing on an Adderall tablet from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, got here again constructive in January. Pharmacies there are promoting counterfeit prescription drugs laced with illicit substances and passing them off as official prescription drugs.
Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times by way of Getty Images
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Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times by way of Getty Images
Testing on an Adderall tablet from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, got here again constructive in January. Pharmacies there are promoting counterfeit prescription drugs laced with illicit substances and passing them off as official prescription drugs.
Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times by way of Getty Images
Mexican pharmacies that cater to U.S. vacationers are promoting medicines that seem protected however are incessantly laced with lethal fentanyl and methamphetamine.
That’s the conclusion of new analysis that examined medicines bought legally in 4 cities in northern Mexico the place vacationers from the U.S. typically search low-cost well being care and prescription drugs.
“For drugs bought as oxycodone, we examined 27 and located 10 or 11 of them contained both fentanyl or heroin,” mentioned Chelsea Shover, a researcher on the UCLA School of Medicine.
She mentioned the habits by retail pharmacies in Mexico places unsuspecting individuals at excessive threat of overdose and loss of life.
“When I see there are fentanyl drugs someplace that seem like [prescription drugs], I do know there should have been individuals who’ve died from that,” Shover mentioned.
Her crew additionally discovered medicines bought at Mexican pharmacies laced with methamphetamines.
While these drug shops promote medicines to Mexican customers, Shover says their primary prospects seem like Americans.
“Similar merchandise can be found at a a lot cheaper price in Mexico, so Americans do journey to economize.”
Two Democratic lawmakers despatched a letter to the U.S. State Department calling for a journey advisory to warn Americans of the hazard of buying medicines in Mexico.
“We ought to be completely very involved,” mentioned Rep. David Trone (D-Md.), one of many authors of the letter. “We have virtually 12 million Americans visiting Mexico yearly.”
According to Trone, pharmacies boosting earnings with the high-risk follow are positioned in communities the place Americans journey searching for aid from high-cost prescription medicines bought within the U.S.
“There’s actually a pharmacy on each nook, they’re all over the place down there, as a result of the worth of medication is cheaper.”
On Saturday, the Los Angeles Times reported State Department officers apparently knew in regards to the hazard posed by Mexican pharmacies as way back as 2019 however didn’t concern a high-profile alert to vacationers.
According to the newspaper’s investigation, at the least one U.S. traveler is thought to have overdosed and died after taking medicines bought at a drug retailer in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in 2019.
Rep. Trone mentioned if U.S. officers knew about unsafe medicines being bought at authorized retailers in Mexico, they need to have warned vacationers sooner.
“We’ve heard nothing again [from the State Department] and it’s extremely irritating,” he added.
The State Department despatched an announcement to NPR saying it would not touch upon the letter from lawmakers.
On background, an official pointed to an advisory included within the State Department’s commonplace on-line details about Mexico that urges vacationers to “train warning when buying medicines abroad.”
“Counterfeit medicine is frequent and should show to be ineffective, the improper energy, or comprise harmful elements,” the advisory reads.
There’s no reference, nevertheless, to the particular dangers of harmful medication laced with fentanyl bought at authorized pharmacies.
During a press briefing Monday, spokesman Ned Price mentioned American officers always replace security advisories issued for Mexico.
“We are all the time data to find out whether or not it’s crucial to maneuver our journey warnings in a single course or one other,” he mentioned.
Earlier this month, 4 Americans have been kidnapped by gunmen whereas touring to Mexico to hunt low-cost medical care. Two of them have been killed.
That case had already raised considerations in regards to the security of medical tourism within the nation.