Lafayette Families Going on Vacation to Mexico Should Avoid the Cartels’ Fentanyl-Pushing ‘Pharmacies’

If you're planning a vacation to one of those incredible-looking resorts in Cabo or elsewhere in Mexico, you will probably want to take your own Tylenol or Advil and definitely stock up before you leave. A new investigative report shows that Mexican drug cartels are using pharmacies to push fentanyl-laced drugs on unsuspecting tourists.

According to the report from VICE News, you can already get highly-addictive painkillers without a prescription. But the problem is way deadlier than that.

Beyond medication intended for hangovers and colds, highly addictive opioid painkillers mimicking Oxycontin and Vicodin, as well as other prescription pills resembling Xanax and Adderrall, are also on offer in dozens of outlets like these across Mexico’s tourist towns. You just have to know that you can ask for them. No prescription needed, no questions asked, and as many pills as you want.

But an investigation by VICE News with the Bunk Police, a drug testing company, found that some of these so-called pharmacies are selling pills laced with deadly fentanyl and highly addictive meth. The adulterated nature of the pills as well as their form and fake English-language packing is a sign that they’re produced and distributed by Mexico’s powerful drug cartels and not legitimate pharmaceutical companies, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and experts consulted for this investigation.

The problem facing any local families taking a trip below the border is that the Mexican government has done very little to put a stop to the Mexican drug cartels that are pushing the dangerous synthetic drug.

The investigative team at VICE bought some of the drugs that were allegedly Oxycodone and Adderall, but "Of the four fake Oxys we tested, two tested positive for fentanyl," they discovered. "Of six fake Adderalls we tested, four tested positive for meth."

The Fentanyl Crisis

The problem isn't just in Mexico. The fentanyl crisis in the U.S. has even made its way to Louisiana. We've seen an increase in fentanyl-related arrests throughout the Acadiana area. Recently, a Crowley man in the Acadia Parish jail was charged in the fentanyl-related death of another inmate.

The recent legislative session in Baton Rouge saw several bills aimed at targeting fentanyl dealers, but the drug continues to be a problem.