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Those are for pills that are sourced from drug dealers though. Why would legitimate Mexican pharmacies need to sell laced pills?

by dimmke 3y ago

YellOh 3y ago
Fentanyl production is probably way cheaper than getting on-brand Percocet. On-brand pain reliever revenues (sold to tourists with money) + fentanyl production prices = increased profit.
- dimmke 3y ago
  Well, I have never been prescribed opioids in Mexico, so I can't speak specifically to that. I can say that the way pharmacies are setup in Mexico would not lend itself well to such a system. The title makes it sound like all prescription drugs at Mexican pharmacies carry a risk of having fentanyl in them, which I find really hard to believe. There are several nationwide chains. One of which is called Farmacia Del Ahorro. A conspiracy on that scale to give out fake pills would be hard to pull off, as they source these medications on a very large scale. The only places I could see something like this maybe working are places like Cancun, where it's so tourism focused many business straight up accept USD as currency. And the tourists don't realize they aren't going to a real pharmacy but one setup specifically to scam them. Fentanyl also has a tendency to kill people. No legitimate pharmacy would risk that to improve their profit margins. One death would start a panic and kill their business.
  - YellOh 3y ago
    From the original article linked: "[The counterfeit drug issue is] happening in tourist hot spots across the country... In most of those locations, the pills that tested positive came from independent pharmacies, where workers sold them over the counter, one tablet at a time. But in Puerto Vallarta, counterfeits were available even at one regional pharmacy chain..." Single-pill purchases are extraordinarily sketchy, but the article notes that some of the issue is fake bottles that look like sealed on-brand products. Pretty sure the fentanyl pills are aimed almost entirely at tourists (recreational tourists, but also medical tourists hoping to get their prescriptions cheaper than in the US). Seems like some pharmacies are totally willing to risk deaths (enough for a US Embassy warning) for extra profit.
    - dimmke 3y ago
      Okay, that tracks. My big question was “is this independent or chains” and it’s sort of answered by them saying one location of a regional chain was doing it. I’d bet that regional chain they mention it’s just that location and the employees are running the scheme. And it sounds like they’re selling to people seeking recreational drugs, specifically opiates. So test your pills like you would if you were buying them off the street. Places like Cancun and Puerto Vallarta and Playa Del Carmen are pretty awful. I’d recommend avoiding them anyways.
      - YellOh 3y ago
        I mean, people do still get on-brand Xanax / Percocet / whatever for non-recreational reasons. Painkillers still kill pain. But otherwise, hard agree. If you're going to do medical tourism, avoiding sketchy independent pharmacies aimed at tourists is probably a solid first step.
        dimmke 3y ago
        Yeah but the article describes buying individual pills. That’s not a thing in real pharmacies. It really sounds like they’re just buying from drug dealers that have setup storefronts and I don’t think the overall conclusion of the article is justified by their findings.
        dimmke 3y ago
        Out of curiosity, I acquired a box of Mexican Xanax today. Now I just need to figure out how to test them. It was under the name Tafil and supposedly manufactured by Pfizer. https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1119021696968556566/1119021786936393808/IMG_8243.jpg https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1119021696968556566/1...

Those are for pills that are sourced from drug dealers though. Why would legitimate Mexican pharmacies need to sell laced pills?

by dimmke 3y ago

Those are for pills that are sourced from drug dealers though. Why would legitimate Mexican pharmacies need to sell laced pills?

YellOh 3y ago

Fentanyl production is probably way cheaper than getting on-brand Percocet. On-brand pain reliever revenues (sold to tourists with money) + fentanyl production prices = increased profit.

dimmke 3y ago
Well, I have never been prescribed opioids in Mexico, so I can't speak specifically to that. I can say that the way pharmacies are setup in Mexico would not lend itself well to such a system. The title makes it sound like all prescription drugs at Mexican pharmacies carry a risk of having fentanyl in them, which I find really hard to believe. There are several nationwide chains. One of which is called Farmacia Del Ahorro. A conspiracy on that scale to give out fake pills would be hard to pull off, as they source these medications on a very large scale. The only places I could see something like this maybe working are places like Cancun, where it's so tourism focused many business straight up accept USD as currency. And the tourists don't realize they aren't going to a real pharmacy but one setup specifically to scam them. Fentanyl also has a tendency to kill people. No legitimate pharmacy would risk that to improve their profit margins. One death would start a panic and kill their business.
- YellOh 3y ago
  From the original article linked: "[The counterfeit drug issue is] happening in tourist hot spots across the country... In most of those locations, the pills that tested positive came from independent pharmacies, where workers sold them over the counter, one tablet at a time. But in Puerto Vallarta, counterfeits were available even at one regional pharmacy chain..." Single-pill purchases are extraordinarily sketchy, but the article notes that some of the issue is fake bottles that look like sealed on-brand products. Pretty sure the fentanyl pills are aimed almost entirely at tourists (recreational tourists, but also medical tourists hoping to get their prescriptions cheaper than in the US). Seems like some pharmacies are totally willing to risk deaths (enough for a US Embassy warning) for extra profit.
  - dimmke 3y ago
    Okay, that tracks. My big question was “is this independent or chains” and it’s sort of answered by them saying one location of a regional chain was doing it. I’d bet that regional chain they mention it’s just that location and the employees are running the scheme. And it sounds like they’re selling to people seeking recreational drugs, specifically opiates. So test your pills like you would if you were buying them off the street. Places like Cancun and Puerto Vallarta and Playa Del Carmen are pretty awful. I’d recommend avoiding them anyways.
    - YellOh 3y ago
      I mean, people do still get on-brand Xanax / Percocet / whatever for non-recreational reasons. Painkillers still kill pain. But otherwise, hard agree. If you're going to do medical tourism, avoiding sketchy independent pharmacies aimed at tourists is probably a solid first step.
      - dimmke 3y ago
        Yeah but the article describes buying individual pills. That’s not a thing in real pharmacies. It really sounds like they’re just buying from drug dealers that have setup storefronts and I don’t think the overall conclusion of the article is justified by their findings.
      - dimmke 3y ago
        Out of curiosity, I acquired a box of Mexican Xanax today. Now I just need to figure out how to test them. It was under the name Tafil and supposedly manufactured by Pfizer. https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1119021696968556566/1119021786936393808/IMG_8243.jpg https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1119021696968556566/1...