US warns about fake, unsafe tablets becoming sold in Mexico

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The U.S. State Division has issued a travel warning about unsafe counterfeit tablets becoming sold at pharmacies in Mexico that normally incorporate fentanyl.

The travel alert posted Friday says Americans ought to “exercise caution when shopping for medication in Mexico.”

Small pharmacies in tourist locations and border regions typically sell medicines advertised as OxyContin, Percocet, Xanax and other folks with out a prescription.

The State Division warned that such tablets are normally counterfeit and “may incorporate deadly doses of fentanyl.”

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

A study led by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles positioned that 68% of the 40 Mexican pharmacies visited in four northern Mexico cities sold Oxycodone, Xanax or Adderall, and that 27% of these pharmacies have been advertising fake tablets.

UCLA talked about the study, published in January, positioned that “brick and mortar pharmacies in Northern Mexican tourist towns are advertising counterfeit tablets containing fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine. These tablets are sold largely to US vacationers, and are normally passed off as controlled substances such as Oxycodone, Percocet, and Adderall.”

“These counterfeit tablets represent a truly really serious overdose danger to purchasers who think they are obtaining a recognized quantity of a weaker drug,” talked about Chelsea Shover, assistant professor-in-residence of medicine at the David Geffen College of Medicine at UCLA.

Anecdotal proof suggest that the difficulty exists in beach resorts like Playa del Carmen and Tulum, not just in border cities.

The State Division did not respond to a request for comment on irrespective of no matter if any Americans had overdosed or died due to the Mexico drug sales.

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

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