Border Busts

Trouble for prescription drug buyers in Mexico:

A crackdown on Americans buying certain prescription drugs has resulted in the arrest of 12 Arizonans since May.

Those arrested include a Phoenix man who said he came here to buy Valium for his wife after their health insurance stopped covering it. He's in prison awaiting trial in August.

(via freemarket.net)

Comments

[John]

For transactions like these in Mexico, you need to show your Official Identification Papers.

(Official Identification Papers in Mexico have pictures of dead American presidents on them.)

[Big E]

I wonder If the old man would have been arrested if he would have paid the girl the $150?

Oh by the way Steve you should read the article. It's the Mexican Goverment who has the people under arrest.

[Steve in CO]

oops, my bad... I just assumed it was us, the over-zealous, logic and fact free druggie warriors... but I ain't apologizing to the DEA or the BP though... they have plenty of dirt and blood on their hands anyway.

[Steve in CO]

That guy was probably screwed either way ... she would have probably taken his $150 and still ratted him out.

[Steve in CO]

That guy was probably screwed either way, if he'd paid that girl the $150 he would have been out the money, no valium for his wife and probably still arrested.

PS Why don't we just blame his HMO while we're at it?

[apple]

Look on bright side the man is in a Mexican prison and seems to be doing well.

If he would've given the lil girl that money chances are he wouldve got away. The lil girl would not have ratted him out do to the simple fact that he would be a returning customer and
$150 in Mexico goes a long way.

[Not Fred]

apple is right. My experience with Mexican officials is that they remain loyal to the pictures of dead presidents and love collecting these little portraits every chance they get. Funny thing is, my congressman shares the same zeal.

[jc]

The guy's doctor wouldn't allow the patient to take generic Valium? Either this doctor is a complete asshole or there's something fishy about the story.

[Warren]

Good point jc. Looks like the quack was on the take to me.

[The Lonewacko Blog]

Several U.S. community leaders and U.S. human-rights groups are flying in to Mexico to hold demonstrations and demand an end to this racist, anti-human practice.

Oh, wait, this doesn't involve establishing Aztlan.

For more fun with our "friends" to the south, see this. The killer of an L.A. Sheriff's Deputy is free in Mexico, and they won't extradite him.

[rick]

My doc told me there are differances twix genaric and brand naMED drugs; I think she cited valium as an example. My wife returned the generic well-but-rin, saying I was not happy.

[Lisa Simpson]

Wellbutrin SR (still patent-protected) works much better than the old, generically available formula. Haven't heard how the new once-daily version differs, if at all.

[Pavel]

Officially, generics and brand name equivalents are supposed to be just that...equivalent. But numerous tests have shown surprising physical differences seen by brain scans. When it comes to foreign manufacturers, generics are often poorly controlled for quality. This is especially the case with Valium which is probably the single most counterfeited drug in places like Mexico, India and Thailand. More often than not you'll get a pill with 0-20% of the active ingredient if you're lucky.

Any pillhead knows that if it doesn't have a little V carved into it, it's just not the same.

[Steve in CO]

Outrageous! Land of the free? WTF is wrong with us?

[Brian]

Pavel--

If chemical analysis (HPLC/GCMS/whatever) shows a difference in the content of a generic vs. name-brand that's one thing (definitely a concern with foregn manufacturers). But if the only endpoint is brain scans, I've got two words:

Placebo effect.

I used to buy generic Claritin (Loratdina) in Nogales before it was available OTC here in the States. It worked like a champ. Maybe that was placebo effect, too, but I kind of doubt it.

[John Fembup]

"He was picked up May 19 for buying 270 pills of Valium using his wife's prescription"

Isn't it illegal to attempt to obtain drugs using a prescription written for another person? The corner pharmacy will let me fill for my wife because they know us both. I would not try that far from home.

Of course, it probably is not illegal in Mexico as long as you can pay the right amount. I therefore lean toward the theory that that one guy screwed up by not agreeing to pay the runner her $150. He didn't recognize a shakedown when he saw one, and should have remembered where he was.

[TWC]

It is, in fact, the US Gov't that pressured Mexico to enact laws requiring prescriptions for so-called pyscho-trophic drugs.

In years past these drugs were not illegal to purchase in Mexico. But even today, one can cross the border at San Diego or Otay Mesa and walk right into a one-stop pharmacy where the prescription costs about 15 bucks and the medicine is 25% the cost of meds in the US. The trick is getting back across without being hassled by the American border gestapo.

BTW, these pharmacies are modern and many of the drugs are manufactured by US companies. No back alley stuff.

[tucsonb]

any innocent take on the story about the older man that was arrested for trying to buy 270 valium for his wife in mexico is hard to believe, first, that is a huge amount of valium for one prescription (it is sold up to 10 mg and the pills can be broken in half, so no need to buy that many), second generic is the same for valium and would have cost less than $15.00 for thirty in U.S., my theory is he was using the prescription in mexico so he could keep it and use it over again

[tucsonb]

any innocent take on the story about the older man that was arrested for trying to buy 270 valium for his wife in mexico is hard to believe, first, that is a huge amount of valium for one prescription (it is sold up to 10 mg and the pills can be broken in half, so no need to buy that many), second generic is the same for valium and would have cost less than $15.00 for thirty in U.S., my theory is he was using the prescription in mexico so he could keep it and use it over again

[tucsonb]

any innocent take on the story about the older man that was arrested for trying to buy 270 valium for his wife in mexico is hard to believe, first, that is a huge amount of valium for one prescription (it is sold up to 10 mg and the pills can be broken in half, so no need to buy that many), second generic is the same for valium and would have cost less than $15.00 for thirty in U.S., my theory is he was using the prescription in mexico so he could keep it and use it over again