US warns about pretend, harmful tablets being offered in Mexico

The State Department warned that such tablets are sometimes counterfeit and “may contain deadly doses of fentanyl.”

“Counterfeit pills are readily advertised on social media and can be purchased at small, non-chain pharmacies in Mexico along the border and in tourist areas,” it stated.

A examine led by researchers on the University of California, Los Angeles discovered that 68% of the 40 Mexican pharmacies visited in 4 northern Mexico cities offered Oxycodone, Xanax or Adderall, and that 27% of these pharmacies have been promoting pretend tablets.

UCLA stated the examine, printed in January, discovered that “brick and mortar pharmacies in Northern Mexican tourist towns are selling counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine. These pills are sold mainly to US tourists, and are often passed off as controlled substances such as Oxycodone, Percocet, and Adderall.”

“These counterfeit pills represent a serious overdose risk to buyers who think they are getting a known quantity of a weaker drug,” stated Chelsea Shover, assistant professor-in-residence of medication on the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Anecdotal proof counsel that the issue exists in seashore resorts like Playa del Carmen and Tulum, not simply in border cities.

The State Department didn’t reply to a request for touch upon whether or not any Americans had overdosed or died as a result of Mexico drug gross sales.

A State Department spokesperson wrote in response to the request that “The U.S. Department of State has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas. We take seriously our commitment to provide U.S. citizens with clear, timely, and reliable information about every country in the world so they can make informed travel decisions.”