Testing on an Adderall capsule from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, got here again constructive in January. Pharmacies there are promoting counterfeit prescription tablets laced with illicit substances and passing them off as respectable prescribed drugs.
Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Occasions through Getty Pictures
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Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Occasions through Getty Pictures
Testing on an Adderall capsule from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, got here again constructive in January. Pharmacies there are promoting counterfeit prescription tablets laced with illicit substances and passing them off as respectable prescribed drugs.
Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Occasions through Getty Pictures
Mexican pharmacies that cater to U.S. vacationers are promoting medicines that seem secure however are continuously laced with lethal fentanyl and methamphetamine.
That is 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 prescribed drugs.
“For tablets bought as oxycodone, we examined 27 and located 10 or 11 of them contained both fentanyl or heroin,” stated Chelsea Shover, a researcher on the UCLA Faculty of Medication.
She stated the conduct by retail pharmacies in Mexico places unsuspecting folks at excessive danger of overdose and dying.
“After I see there are fentanyl tablets someplace that appear like [prescription drugs], I do know there need to have been individuals who’ve died from that,” Shover stated.
Her group additionally discovered medicines bought at Mexican pharmacies laced with methamphetamines.
Whereas these drug shops promote medicines to Mexican shoppers, Shover says their important prospects seem like Individuals.
“Comparable merchandise can be found at a a lot cheaper price in Mexico, so Individuals do journey to economize.”
Two Democratic lawmakers despatched a letter to the U.S. State Division calling for a journey advisory to warn Individuals of the hazard of buying medicines in Mexico.
“We ought to be completely very involved,” stated Rep. David Trone (D-Md.), one of many authors of the letter. “We’ve got nearly 12 million Individuals visiting Mexico yearly.”
In accordance with Trone, pharmacies boosting earnings with the high-risk apply are situated in communities the place Individuals journey searching for reduction 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 medicine is cheaper.”
On Saturday, the Los Angeles Occasions reported State Division 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.
In accordance with the newspaper’s investigation, at the very least one U.S. traveler is understood to have overdosed and died after taking medicines bought at a drug retailer in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in 2019.
Rep. Trone stated if U.S. officers knew about unsafe medicines being bought at authorized shops in Mexico, they need to have warned vacationers sooner.
“We have heard nothing again [from the State Department] and it’s totally irritating,” he added.
The State Division despatched a press release to NPR saying it would not touch upon the letter from lawmakers.
On background, an official pointed to an advisory included within the State Division’s commonplace on-line details about Mexico that urges vacationers to “train warning when buying medicines abroad.”
“Counterfeit medicine is widespread and should show to be ineffective, the improper energy, or include harmful substances,” the advisory reads.
There is no reference, nonetheless, to the precise dangers of harmful medication laced with fentanyl bought at authorized pharmacies.
Throughout a press briefing Monday, spokesman Ned Value stated American officers consistently replace security advisories issued for Mexico.
“We’re all the time taking a look at data to find out whether or not it’s obligatory to maneuver our journey warnings in a single course or one other,” he stated.
Earlier this month, 4 Individuals had been kidnapped by gunmen whereas touring to Mexico to hunt low-cost medical care. Two of them had been killed.
That case had already raised considerations in regards to the security of medical tourism within the nation.