Release Date
Geography
Language of Resource
Full Text Available
Open Access / OK to Reproduce
Peer Reviewed
Objective
To characterize the availability of counterfeit and authentic controlled substances at pharmacies in Northern Mexico available to English-speaking tourists without a prescription.
Findings/Key points
Of n=45 samples sold as one-off controlled substances, 18 were counterfeit. 7 of 11 (63.6%) samples sold as “Adderall” contained methamphetamine, 8 of 27 (29.6%) samples sold as “Oxycodone” contained fentanyl, and 3 “Oxycodone” samples contained heroin. Pharmacies providing counterfeit drugs were uniformly located in tourist-serving micro-neighborhoods, and generally featured English-language advertisements for erectile dysfunction medications and “painkillers”. Pharmacy employees occasionally expressed concern about overdose risk and provided harm reduction guidance.
Design/methods
Longitudinal ethnographic data was used to characterize tourist-oriented micro-neighborhoods and guide the selection of n=40 pharmacies in n=4 cities in Northern Mexico.
