Some Pharmacies in Mexico Sell Counterfeit Drugs to U.S. Tourists Pat Anson - Pain News Network
go to original May 18, 2023

Some Mexican pharmacies holding counterfeit pills with fentanyl and meth, experts say (12 News)

With opioid pain medication increasingly harder to obtain in the United States, a growing number of Americans are heading south of the border to get painkillers and other prescription drugs in Mexico. That’s a risky activity, according to UCLA researchers, who found it was fairly common for Mexican pharmacies to sell counterfeit medication to unsuspecting tourists.

The researchers visited 40 pharmacies in Northern Mexico and purchased samples of oxycodone, hydrocodone, Xanax and Adderall, most of which were obtained without a prescription. Immunoassay testing strips were then used to check each pill for the presence of fentanyls, benzodiazepines, amphetamines and methamphetamines.

Eleven of the 40 pharmacies were found to be selling counterfeit drugs. Of the 27 “oxycodone” tablets purchased, 11 were made with either illicit fentanyl or heroin. One pill sold as “Vicodin” only contained lactose and the weaker opioid tramadol.

Nine of the 11 “Adderall” pills contained methamphetamine, while none of the Xanax pills were found to be counterfeit.

The study findings were first reported online in medRxiv, a website that publishes new medical research before it is peer-reviewed.

“It is not possible to distinguish counterfeit medications based on appearance, because authentic and counterfeit versions are often sold in close geographic proximity and are visually and otherwise indistinguishable from one another. Nevertheless, US tourists may be more trusting of controlled substances purchased directly from pharmacies,” the UCLA researchers said, noting that overdoses are poorly monitored in Mexico, making it difficult to know how many people have died from taking counterfeit pills.

Researchers say the growing trade in counterfeit drugs – both north and south of the border – is due in part to a decade-long crackdown on prescription opioids. Since 2010, opioid prescriptions in the U.S. have fallen by nearly 50 percent.

Read the rest at Pain News Network

Related: US Drug Shortages Near an All-Time High, Leading to Rationing (The New York Times)

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