In order to clear up a misunderstanding... the interest in getting medication in Mexico is not predicated on a desire to save money nor it is to avoid getting proper prescriptions. It is because DEA and Ca. restrictions on certain medications make it impossible to get these medications under various circumstances (e.g. the pharmacy will not sell them to you) even with legitimate prescriptions.
One
function of the Internet which can be said to be socially neutral is
to share information among people who have a common interest, whether
that interest is sailing, jihadist terrorism or getting legitimate
medical help in a region of the world. This feature is certainly of
positive value some of the time, but it is also of (culturally
dependent) negative value other times. Clearly we do not see advice
on blowing people up as positive, but those who seek to right what
they see as wrongs do.
In
that spirit I am going to discuss what I think I know about getting
the medications I need to treat ADHD in Mexico. One
of the few advantages of living in Hell is that I am near the border
of Mexico. Its an hour away.
This
note is not intended to aid people figure out how to get recreational
drugs or anything of the sort. It is intended to be a personal
journal of my attempts to get legitimately prescribed medications for
a disorder that for reasons known to the DEA are difficult to get in
this country.
I
also happen to believe that American adult citizens of good standing
should be permitted to be able to choose what they take in their
bodies without the consent of doctors or government as long as they
are of proper age, and do not do stupid things like drive motor
vehicles under the influence. Which of course they do every day of
the week under the influence of the most dangerous drug of them all:
alcohol. But that opinion of mine is not relevant to this and
related posts. This post is solely about getting properly prescribed
medications that are not disbursed in this country for a variety of
regulatory stupidities.
There
is a lot of misinformation about getting meds in Mexico on the
Internet and I am probably adding to it. As time goes by I will add
links to the useful sources I have found. So far, I have not
tried any of this and I have not been to Mexico for years. This
information comes entirely from reading dozens or hundreds of posts
on the Internet and forming my own judgement. No doubt I will try some of what I discuss here if for no other reason to satisfy my curiosity. Repeat, none of the following is personal experience. And I despise giving what appears as advice without direct personal experience, but here we are. Any numbers
quoted are numbers found on the Internet and are likely to be
“internet numbers” which is to say not true, or only somewhat
true.
First
notes, and then tentative conclusions.
Americans
going to Mexico to get medication is a vast business. There are
numbers like 40 million visitors per year just for this purpose.
There are numbers such as $200M a year in pharmaceuticals bought by
Americans and carried back across the border. Remember, these are
internet numbers, taken with a grain of salt.
There
are at least a thousand pharmacies in Tijuana that exist to service
this business. These pharmacies fall into two classes. Only the
much more rare first class handles what we would call controlled
substances. The more common second class of pharmacies handles the
more common and uncontrolled substances.
The
vast majority of purchases fall into a few classes: older people
seeking to save money on the medications they need to survive or not
be in pain and who are looking to ease the appalling costs added to
medications in American in order to extract more money from innocent
victims. As you might imagine our government is outraged that sick
and poor people would try to get the same deal that large
corporations get by going offshore, and do anything to stop it. But
for some reason the border guards will permit these prescription, but
non-controlled or scheduled substances back across the border if they
are carried by the person they are for and are for personal use. I
know very little else about what is involved in getting these
medications and they are of no interest to me, at least not yet. The
other major group of purchasers are young men looking for Viagra at a
discount or other appalling date rape drugs which are apparently
easily available. There is also a big business in self medicated
antibiotics and people stock up on these. This is the sort of
behavior that makes doctors in this country and their paid servants,
the politicians, mad with rage and they do whatever they can to stop
it. There is another category of people who are seeking medications
not yet available in this country but are available in Europe. Mexico
seems to follow the European approvals.
Many
of these medications are made directly in Mexico in factories run by
the major pharmaceutical companies. There is a lot of discussion
about what is and what is not of adequate quality. My feeling is
that this should not be a major concern unless you are doing things
like cancer drugs or heart disease drugs. In my case it is not a
concern. The medication will work in the manner that I expect or I
will not repeat the experience. If it doesnt work I am no worse off
than I was before.
Generally
speaking your American prescriptions are not good over there.
Mexico has their own system of prescribing medications and if you are
interested in so-called controlled substances you will need a Mexican
doctor to write you one. This is apocryphally not too difficult it
is said. See notes below. A photocopy of an American prescription
or empty prescription bottles *may* be of use in demonstrating
that you are of good will and it *may* be useful in talking to
a licensed Mexican doctor in getting a prescription for what you
need. On a personal note I plan to take with me photocopies of a
relevant prescription and an empty bottle or two just in case they
turn out to be useful.
It
is apparently common for a person to go to a pharmacy, be directed to
a doctor, and get a prescription for what they need for what we would
consider a nominal sum, e.g. $20 or $30 US. Again take this all
with a grain of salt.
The
doctor may wish to break the prescription down to small amounts and
suggest you go to separate pharmacies.
Coming
back across the border seems to be the following. You are supposed
to declare anything you buy of this type. If you do not, and they
find them, you are guilty of a misdemeanor and what you bought are
likely to be confiscated. If you do declare and they are for
personal use, generally they let you through. If you are carrying so
much that they think that you are going to resell them, then they
will confiscate. It is not so clear to me that any of this applies
to controlled substances, but if they are small amounts for personal
use, and you have copies of legitimate prescriptions or American
bottles, then it is believed they let you through. I consider this a
major flaw in the whole scheme because it is very likely that the
behavior may depend on who is manning the station and what the
enforcement flavor of the month is.
You
will need a passport.
Tentative
conclusions:
For
non-controlled substances that are not health critical, such as heart
disease, this is likely to be a way to save substantial money and has
no apparent risks.
Those
who use medications that are health critical need to be more careful
and you can find discussions on the internet of how to do so.
Carrying
an American prescription and or empty bottles may be helpful in
getting the medication or coming back across the border, or it may be
totally a waste of time.
You
will need a Mexican prescription for anything that is controlled in
Mexico. This includes most but not all of the controlled substances
in this country. For ADHD, anything useful is controlled in both
countries.
Coming
back across the border is a dubious activity that may be helped by
the medication being for your personal use, and having proof of
legitimate American and Mexican prescriptions. It is critical that
this medication be for your own use and not for resale. Failing to
declare these things is a crime, do not do it, it will get you into
trouble.
You
will need an American passport.
Plan
to spend all day on this activity, at least the first time you try
it.
In
conclusion, I am leery of the whole process. It is an ambiguous
venture, not quite tantamount to drug smuggling but perhaps one of
those odd holes in the control of trade materials across the border.
But we are told we live in a world of globalization and that it is
ethical to destroy American livelihoods by using slave labor in
China, a vicious dictatorship, so why shouldn't Americans try to get
a little savings by going to Mexico.
The
hypocrisy of our system is rampant, overt, and starting to get
annoying.
