Mexico: cartels poison tourists with fentanyl through legal pharmacies

Whole batches of drugs contaminated with fentanyl, methamphetamine and illegal ecstasy have been uncovered. They are not sold by drug dealers, but by legal pharmacies throughout Mexico. This is the latest alert issued Tuesday by the Los Angeles Department of Health, after the Los Angeles Times reported it in a story. According to the Times, half of the pills tested for a report were counterfeit and contained illegal active ingredients.

Following the information provided by the Los Angeles Times, health authorities have advised California citizens not to travel to Mexico to buy medicines or other pharmacy products, even if they are purchased in official and licensed premises. "The safest course of action is to avoid consuming pills from any source other than those from an FDA approved pharmacy or those prescribed by your health care professional," the Health Department said.

To avoid overdoses due to unintentional consumption of the drugs, authorities recommend having on hand naloxone, which counteracts opioid receptors and is very common in the treatment of intoxication.

The Los Angeles Times analyzed 55 pills, all purchased legally in 29 pharmacies across eight different cities in Mexico. According to this media analysis, more than 33% of the painkillers tested contained traces of illegal fentanyl instead of the correct active ingredients. In addition, 12 of the 15 Adderall samples tested were positive for other substances, such as methamphetamine and ecstasy. On occasion, entire vials that appeared to be factory-sealed were contaminated, according to the Health Department release.

North American tourists on target

According to the report, the pharmacies that sold the pills were mostly independent, but some were also regional chains. According to an expert on drug cartels, the criminal organizations themselves produce these fake pills. According to Vice reporters, who toured pharmacies in Mexico's tourist regions, some of the establishments are said to be unaware of what they are selling, while others are said to be under the control of the cartels, who see this as a new way to sell their product. According to reporters, pharmacies offer the medication at prices ranging from $15, $20 or even $40 per pill.

The pharmacies selling the fake drugs appeared to target tourists, according to the Times, and even provided prices in U.S. dollars. Producing counterfeit drugs with surplus illegal drugs thus appears to be cheaper in Mexico. The objective would be to sell the adulterated drugs to unwary tourists. Times reporters shopped in Playa del Carmen, Cozumel, Tulum, Tijuana, Nuevo Progreso, San Jose del Cabo, Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta. Many of these cities are tourist towns.

The LA Times findings are consistent with the results of another University of California investigation, which also focused on pharmacies located in tourist spots around Mexico. According to the UCLA researchers, out of 40 pharmacies evaluated, one or more of the controlled drugs was sold without a prescription in 28 of the 40 establishments. Of these 40 pharmacies, eleven sold adulterated drugs. "Pharmacies supplying counterfeit drugs were uniformly located in touristy micro-neighborhoods and typically featured English-language advertisements for erectile dysfunction drugs and 'painkillers,'" the UCLA study noted.

The U.S. authorities appear to have been aware of these dangers for months or even years. However, there has been no effort from the federal government to attack the root of the problem. There has also been no government response from Mexican authorities to control the sale of illegal and counterfeit products in businesses open to the public. According to government data, 106,000 people died from drug overdoses in the United States.