Mexican pharmacies & fentanyl

[SLB_SA]

This NPR article Mexican pharmacies are selling pills laced with deadly fentanyl to U.S. travelers says
Mexican pharmacies that cater to U.S. tourists are selling medications that appear safe but are frequently laced with deadly fentanyl and methamphetamine. That's the conclusion of new research that examined medications purchased legally in four cities in northern Mexico where travelers from the U.S. often seek low-cost health care and pharmaceuticals.
Two Democratic requested the State Department issue a travel advisory to warn Americans of the danger of purchasing medications in Mexico. This seems like a "Safety on the Road" issue.

 

[wayne49]

What are the connections between those congress critters [assumed, post does not mention their positions] and the US pharmaceutical industry?

Those border towns are heavily dependent on US dollars, and it would not be in their best interests to be selling crap that could kill that cash flow.

 

[SLB_SA]

The article notes:
According to the newspaper's investigation, at least one U.S. traveler is known to have overdosed and died after taking medications purchased at a drug store in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in 2019. Rep. Trone said if U.S. officials knew about unsafe medications being sold at legal outlets in Mexico, they should have warned travelers sooner. "We've heard nothing back [from the State Department] and it's very frustrating," he added. The State Department sent a statement to NPR saying it wouldn't comment on the letter from lawmakers.
The lawmakers are Senator Edward J. Markey and Representative David Trone and the letter is here. The research was conducted by the UCLA School of Medicine. The article also says On Saturday, the Los Angeles Times reported State Department officials apparently knew about the danger posed by Mexican pharmacies as long ago as 2019 but failed to issue a high-profile alert to travelers.

 

[bullfrog !]

If you are taking enough oxycodone you have to go to Mexico to buy it you got more problems than just impurities in your pills! Some veterans resort to cheap street drugs after having been over prescribed pain and depression meds through the VA which after becoming addicted are cut off, I haven’t heard of any having to travel to Mexico! Probably most of the drugs sold in this country are imported from another country anyway. Makes you wonder how safe those drugs are that are sold in the USA after being relabeled. How well enforced are the USA standards? Are the drugs being sold here really better monitored? Drug companies seem to have enough political power to do pretty much what ever is profitable anymore in this country with out regard to the need of the people that need them, after all it seems to be all about the profit.

 

[Morgana]

You need to choose your pharmacy carefully just like you choose any of the other services carefully when you cross the border for the deep discounts. It blows my mind that people just follow those carnival-barker-type guys into the first place that offers them a cheap deal. But they must -- otherwise those guys wouldn't still be employed.

I felt pretty confident using the Benavides pharmacies because they're part of a big chain which also has some kind of affiliation with Walgreens (yeah, I know, a Big Pharma connection is not the most confidence-inspiring thing in the world, but in this context it's better than "psst, lady, want cheap drugs?" At one place I knew, there was also a restaurant/bar/pharmacy (!) that had been around for decades and long-time locals on the US side knew it and swore by it; something like that seems reasonably safe to trust, too.

When I say "choose carefully" that doesn't mean it's easy to figure this out. I wish there was more oversight or better advising -- those "medical broker" companies don't seem much use. I haven't read those fentanyl articles yet; if it turns out Benavides is one of the offenders I'll eat some vegetarian crow, but a chain seems like it would have more to lose offending this way.

Not easy to figure out! This has sure been a bad week for Mexican border towns dependent on US dollars. It's a #$%^ shame for the honest people who I'm sure are in the majority.