The U.S. State Department on Friday issued a warning to Americans to “be careful” when buying drugs from Mexican drugstores, posting a health warning a week after a letter from two lawmakers and an investigation by the Los Angeles Times. bottom.
“The U.S. Department of State is aware of recent media reports of counterfeit medicines available in Mexican pharmacies, including those contaminated with fentanyl and methamphetamine.” Allert said. “Counterfeit pills are easily advertised on social media and can be purchased from small non-chain pharmacies in Mexico along the border and in tourist areas.”
The new notice is stronger than previous language on the agency’s website that warned that counterfeit pills were common in the country. It is not specified that it can be purchased at any legal pharmacy or that it may contain such powerful and deadly substances.
“The State Department’s warning is an appropriate and necessary step,” said Chelsea Shover, a UCLA researcher whose team documented the issue earlier this year. “But there’s still a lot we don’t know about the extent of this problem, and I think finding it will be important in order to give more accurate warnings and take action.”
The agency did not respond to a series of questions about the recommendation, instead sending a statement.
On Friday, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City issued a health alert to inform U.S. citizens of the dangers of counterfeit medicines available in Mexican pharmacies, including those potentially contaminated with fentanyl and methamphetamine. ‘ said the statement.
Mexican agencies and officials did not respond to requests for comment. I denied that
The State Department warning follows Senator Edward J. Markey (Democrat of Massachusetts) and Rep. David Trone (Democrat of Maryland) in writing to the State Department asking them to “warn of the dangers facing Americans traveling to Mexico.” It’s been a week since. When buying medicine in a Mexican pharmacy. ”
A letter quoting The Times investigation and the Researcher at UCLABoth findings document dangerous counterfeit pills being sold over-the-counter in drugstores in northwestern Mexico.
“U.S. tourists who unknowingly purchase counterfeit drugs from Mexican pharmacies, with or without a prescription, face fatal risks from effectively poisoned drugs,” the Los Angeles Times said. ‘ wrote the legislator.
A spokesperson for Marquee’s office said Saturday that the warning was “an important first step,” but that the senator “has not yet received a response from the State Department” regarding a letter he and Tron sent to the State Department earlier this month.
“The State Department has issued a health alert to Americans visiting Mexico about the dangers of pills contaminated with fentanyl and other potent drugs sold in Mexican pharmacies,” Markey said in an email. I am pleased to issue the order,” he said. .
Of the 17 tablets Times reporters tested this year, 71% tested positive for stronger drugs. In three cities, tablets marketed as oxycodone or percocet tested positive for fentanyl. In two cities, tablets marketed as Adderall tested positive for methamphetamine.
Many of the tablets were nearly indistinguishable from regular tablets and were all purchased over-the-counter from small independent pharmacies in northwestern Mexico.
A UCLA team found similar results when testing 45 samples from four cities in the same region. Using infrared spectroscopy, researchers found heroin in three of his purchased pills.
While it was known that counterfeit medicines were becoming increasingly common on the black market in Mexico and the United States, it was not known that potent synthetic drugs had made their way into pharmacy supply chains. experts predicted that the pollutants would have deadly consequences.
“When you have a counterfeit product that contains fentanyl, people are going to die using it,” Schauver said at the time.
Five weeks later, The Times investigation It details the final hours of life of Brennan Harrell, a 29-year-old California man who died in 2019 after consuming fentanyl-tainted tablets purchased at a pharmacy in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
His parents said they cooperated with the Drug Enforcement Administration. implement and support Human trafficking investigations in the United States and Mexico. Harrells said agents investigated the issue but did not warn the public of the potential risks.
A DEA spokesperson declined to comment on Friday’s State Department warning, citing previous DEA emails.
“We do not regulate pharmacies in Mexico, so we encourage you to contact Mexican authorities,” the email said. Please refer to them for information provided to Americans visiting Mexico.”
Harrell’s parents fought for more than three years to get the State Department to place a prominent warning about the dangers of Mexican pharmacies.
“This warning was supposed to come in 2019 when I warned the State Department,” Brennan’s mother, Mary, told The Times on Saturday.
Other deaths, she said, “are in their hands, and we will never know how many.”
One reason is that autopsies in Mexico do not consistently include testing for fentanyl. What’s more, drug experts say national mortality data are well below overdose deaths.
More than 91,000 people died from overdoses in the United States in 2020, while Mexico had fewer than 20 deaths from opioids that year, according to official national data. That same year, he recorded more than 68,000 opioid overdose deaths in the United States.
State Department Matters travel recommendations For all countries, we assess the level of caution U.S. travelers should take. The lowest level of advice — colored blue — suggests that you should “take the usual precautions” while abroad. The highest level of recommendation, coded in red, warns that Americans “should not travel” there due to the life-threatening risk.
For specific, and often short-term, safety concerns in another country, the agency issues warnings about demonstrations, crime trends, weather events, and more.
on monday, State Department issued Extensive spring break “travel alerts” alerting travelers to concerns in Mexico, including crime, drowning, medical emergencies, and medications.
“Counterfeit medicines are common and can be found to be ineffective, of the wrong strength, or contain dangerous ingredients,” the warning said. should be consulted with and purchased from a reputable establishment.”
The warning was largely a repeat of guidance on the site and did not include the warning lawmakers demanded about counterfeit drugs sold in drug stores.
On Friday, the State Department released a more detailed warning, “Health Alert: Counterfeit Medicines,” more specifically about concerns raised in recent reports. However, the ministry did not respond to questions about how long the alert will last.
“Both over-the-counter and prescription drugs are often readily available in the United States with little regulation,” Alert said.
