The U.S. State Division has issued a journey warning about harmful counterfeit capsules being offered at pharmacies in Mexico that usually include fentanyl.
The journey alert posted Friday says People ought to “train warning when buying medicine in Mexico.”
Small pharmacies in vacationer areas and border areas generally promote medicines marketed as OxyContin, Percocet, Xanax and others with out a prescription.
The State Division warned that such capsules are sometimes counterfeit and “could include lethal doses of fentanyl.”
“Counterfeit capsules are readily marketed on social media and will be bought at small, non-chain pharmacies in Mexico alongside the border and in vacationer areas,” it stated.
A examine led by researchers on the College 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 faux capsules.
UCLA stated the examine, printed in January, discovered that “brick and mortar pharmacies in Northern Mexican vacationer cities are promoting counterfeit capsules containing fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine.
These capsules are offered primarily to US vacationers, and are sometimes handed off as managed substances reminiscent of Oxycodone, Percocet, and Adderall.”
“These counterfeit capsules symbolize a severe overdose threat to consumers who suppose they’re getting a identified amount of a weaker drug,” stated Chelsea Shover, assistant professor-in-residence of medication on the David Geffen College of Medication at UCLA.
Anecdotal proof recommend that the issue exists in seaside resorts like Playa del Carmen and Tulum, not simply in border cities.
The State Division didn’t reply to a request for touch upon whether or not any People had overdosed or died as a result of Mexico drug gross sales.
A State Division spokesperson wrote in response to the request that “The U.S. Division of State has no larger precedence than the security and safety of U.S. residents abroad. We take critically our dedication to supply U.S. residents with clear, well timed, and dependable details about each nation on the earth to allow them to make knowledgeable journey choices.”