Buying Lunesta/Ambien?

[caa]

Be very, very careful buying medications in Mexico. By law, you need a prescription from a Mexican doctor for a controlled substance, and some things that are OTC in the U.S. are controlled in Mexico (sudafed, for example.) Every once in a while some sting operation catches some American and ends up making the news here. Why would you want to take the risk of ending up in a Mexican prison just to save a fraction of your cruise fare?

 

Here's what the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana has to say about it: http://tijuana.usconsulate.gov/tijuana/Buying_Prescription_Medications_in_Mexico.html

 

And a short quote from travel.state.gov:

Buying Prescription Drugs: The U.S. Embassy recommends that U.S. citizens not travel to Mexico for the sole purpose of buying prescription drugs. U.S. citizens have been arrested and their medicines confiscated by the Mexican authorities when their prescriptions were written by a licensed American physician and filled by a licensed Mexican pharmacist. There have been cases of U.S. citizens buying prescription drugs in border cities only to be arrested soon after or have money extorted by criminals impersonating police officers. Those arrested are often held for the full 48 hours allowed by Mexican law without charges being filed, then released. During this interval, the detainees are often asked for bribes or are solicited by attorneys who demand large fees to secure their release, which will normally occur without any intercession as there are insufficient grounds to bring criminal charges against the individuals. In addition, U.S. law enforcement officials believe that as much as 25 percent of medications available in Mexico are counterfeit and substandard. Such counterfeit medications may be difficult to distinguish from the real medications and could pose serious health risks to consumers. The importation of prescription drugs into the United States can be illegal in certain circumstances. U.S. law generally permits persons to enter the United States with only an immediate (about one-month) supply of a prescription medication. Further information on bringing prescription drugs into the United States is available from U.S. Customs and Border Protection at Know Before You Go.

[MiamiSky66]

To tell you the truth I didn't think ambien was a controlled substance. I just called my daughter who works in a walmart pharmacy and she said it is a controlled substance. Not classified as percoset, but just the same controlled.

[kanuckroozin]

A relative, along with everyone else working at that warehouse, were fired a couple of years ago. Seems that several thousand doses of Lipitor were hijacked somewhere and replaced with counterfeit pills.

 

 

This was done in the states, where two signature are required every time the product changes hands from the manufacturer.

 

Now lets go to Mexico where finding knockoff items happens all the time. Are you going to risk your life on medicine?

 

First of all, YOU'RE WRONG! To legally perchase controlled substances in Mexico is the same as it is in the USA or Canada.

 

Secondly, The Mexican DAS (similar to the American DEA) closely monitors the production of medications to be sold in Mexico. To find a counterfeit drug in any farmacia is literally unheard of. They take that kind of thing VERY serious seriously. Don't take my word for it though, I could personally care less. You could stand to brush up on your facts though...

 

The problem surrounding drugs purchased without prescriptions is very sticky. In many cases small stores are not licensed to sell controlled substances but they do anyway to make money. They do not advertise this either because they know it's wrong. In Mazatlan at the cruise pier their are roughly 12-15 stores there with lists of drugs claiming you don't need a prescription. Walk in and ask for Xanax, Ativan or Oxycontin and that (in unknown amounts) is what you will receive. These little stores are giving all pharmacies and Mexican healthcare in general a bad name.

 

I'm not saying that there is no problem, but I am tired of people giving these pharmacies a bad rap! These underground drug peddlers wouldn't be in the business if there were no demand! Bottom line is you're more likely to get e.coli from the mexican lettuce you bought at Albertson's in your rinky dink Ohio town than receive counterfeit drugs at a licensed pharmacy in Mexico...