US Department of State Issue a warning After reports emerged that counterfeit medicines containing illegal drugs were being sold in pharmacies in Mexico.
The department said the counterfeit drugs were contaminated with substances including fentanyl and methamphetamine. It was the fake grain details First reported in the Los Angeles Times. The DEA also reported counterfeit prescriptions sold on both sides of the border, the administration said, such as OxyContin, Percocet, Xanax, and others.
In its advisory, the department said people should “exercise caution when purchasing medicines,” noting that pharmaceuticals, even those that may require a prescription in the United States, are “often readily available for purchase with little regulation.”
In addition to the risk of contamination, officials said that counterfeit drugs may “prove ineffective” or be the wrong power source.
“Medicines must be purchased in consultation with a medical professional and from reputable institutions,” the ministry said, noting that counterfeit medicines “are easily advertised on social media and can be purchased in small, non-chain pharmacies in Mexico along the borders and in tourist areas.”
Four Americans were kidnapped earlier this month in a Mexican border town He also highlighted “medical tourism”, Or when people travel to another country to receive affordable medical care or prescriptions. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not track crimes related to medical tourism, it considers the practice to be “risky.”
a 2015 study from the US International Trade Commission (USITC) found that about 1 million Californians have traveled to Mexico to buy drugs at lower prices.
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