Is hydrocodone OTC in Mexico?

[buddhasninja]

I live in Florida so I can't just drive over the border either way, but I have been there many times and seen in pharmacies you can purchase many things you wouldn't be able to in the USA. Any ideas?

 

[Loubitan]

Hydrocodone in Mexico

From what I was told, hydrocodone is not manufactured or made in Mexcio and doctors there don't prescribe it, because legit pharmacits can't get it or it is illegal for them to prescribe it. Most of the mexican hydrocodone is made in the USA and then imported to Mexico, which is what I was told by a Mexican pharamacist In short, Mexico banned hydrocodone is what I was told. This was a few years ago, so things may have changed. Does this help? Let us know...also let us know if you heard otherwise from a Mexican pharmacist.

 

[Coheed]

Funny about other countries when I was in Peru they literally every other store on the street is a pharmacy, at least in the district I was in which was San Martin details porres but anyway I asked in every pharmacy if they had oxycodone or methadone and not one of them had even heard of it. The local I was with family are nurses and they had never heard if those drugs either I guess they mostly use morphine for pain there. My point is I was just surprised how other countries don't use the same meds but on the other hand a corner pharmacy will sell you diazepam with no script. Third world countries ahhh.

 

[dsteury]

Peru is like most Central and South American Countries there customers cannot afford these drugs so they stick with the low price stuff. Like New Neo-Percodan for instance. The closer you get to the main stream towns you will find he products much easier only at about same as American Prices. Now Europe o the other hand is another thing all together. Coke , Heroin are readily available. Now if your trying to score Russia is the spot ask you bell captain where the hot spot is and everybody is selling everything.

 

[Dusty Bottoms]

I remember a time when I could go down to TJ and tip a cab driver $10 and he would take you to get anything you asked for. Now once you tip them and they will notify a police officer they work with you will detain you until you pay him bail which he will split with the driver.

I know it sounds kind of elementary but Mexico isn't a safe place to try to obtain anything anymore.

 

[_jenny_]

i don't think hydrocodone is part of the Mexican pharmacopoeia and as such is not over the counter nor prescribed there by doctors.

codeine, OTOH, i believe is available in Mexican pharmacies if you know where to look.

 

[Ofcourse]

To my knowledge it is not OTC however I would assume with everything that has happened there as of late that it is a bit easier to find than in the US/Canada. Even if it was Customs/Border Patrol is a beast I wouldn't want to tempt their abilities.... if you know what I mean.

 

[Kittsoan1989]

Nope - In most of the tourist towns you WILL NOT find any opiates OTC - once you move away from tourist areas you may have more luck - but it is still ILLEGAL to sell opiates in Mexico OTC

 

[happyj]

We used to cross over to Tijuana and visit places like Adelita's. Anyway, walking back over the border you get to see multiple pharmacies. A few of them speak English and you can just ask for whatever is on your mind but the ones on the border at least there are no real controlled substances available over the counter.

 

[Loubitan]

Latin America and Pharmacies

Peru is like most Central and South American Countries there customers cannot afford these drugs so they stick with the low price stuff. Like New Neo-Percodan for instance. The closer you get to the main stream towns you will find he products much easier only at about same as American Prices. Now Europe o the other hand is another thing all together. Coke , Heroin are readily available. Now if your trying to score Russia is the spot ask you bell captain where the hot spot is and everybody is selling everything.

The thing with medicines in places like Mexico and Brazil could be perhaps, because they can't afford it. Also, many of the drugs have different names. They have something called, "Neo Percodan," in Mexico, which is a narcotic pain killer. They don't manufacture Hydrocodone at all in Mex. There is a site that gives you the US Name of a Drug, and what it is called in a foreign country. I think it is Drugs.com or just use a search engine. I use this search when I am on international busienss trips for work and I am trying to find something in the Farmacia!

Tootleoo

 

[shsn]

I know codeine is OTC in a lot of countries, not just in 'third world countries'. Ibuprofen and Naproxen are decent for moderate pain, and much cheaper.

 

[therms]

Most of the doctor clinics in say Tijuana are bait-and-switch, I'd imagine, given the city's border location and reputation as a tourist trap and location for swindling the gullible. And straight-up asking for such a medicine at a pharmacy is probably asking for trouble. This is not exactly Retin A we're talking about, and it's also not Spain, where pharmacists have leeway to dispense certain classes of medication (including codeine) on their own discretion without need of a doctor's prescription.

If you need to, you can see a doctor in Mexico to explain your issue - in most parts doctor's clinic visits/consults are not inexpensive. Your hotel can connect you with one if need be (depending on how ritzy your hotel is, the cost might vary) or you can research in the region. The convenient part is that doctors are often connected to a pharmacy, and that's often right next door...so you see them, head next door, get your prescription filled, the end. I haven't had direct experience though, this is what a few friends working there have mentioned to me. I cannot state this with any certainty and I actually tried to google for you, but it doesn't seem like hydrocodone is prescribed in Mexico as a matter of course, anyhow. I'm not sure of regulations, but it seems Mexican medical training predisposes them to other drugs for pain relief. In any case it seems quite rare.

PS Loubitan love your username and avatar!

 

[RetiredRacer]

I've been wondering the same. I visit Cozumel regularly, but never had a need while there. Now I may, and the cruise ship area is LITTERED with La Pharmacia everywhere you look. I don't know what's OTC, but that many cruise shippers and such aren't pouring into them for Tylenol... but maybe they're leaving disappointed, dunno.

 

[actrestr]

No, it is not. I've spent a lot of time down in Mexico. Tramadol is the most potent pain killer you can currently get without a prescription.

 

[rmiller79]

I just came back from Cabo a month ago, and I can tell with you with absolute certainty that hydrocodone is not sold otc in mexico, or with a prescription in mexico. It is only sold there illegally, and usually comes from the us. Oxy's used to be sold otc there until a few years ago, when the mexi government started cracking down on the cartels. Opana, oxycontin, and morphine can only be prescribed and dispensed if stamped by a government health official. The primary stable for pain are tramadol, and some other shiz. Now that being said, you can get just about any opiate you want in mexico, a lot of times in the pharmacies; but it is definitely not legal.

 

[Datderelennon]

No. Tijuana just has a reputation for selling it illicitly in pharmacies.
You're in Florida though, the most known place in the U.S. for illicit prescriptions.
From what I've heard, to get a prescription for anything scheduled in Mexico, you have to go to one of the doctors that the government deems approved to prescribe them, and they're very serious, and in all likelihood won't prescribe someone from the U.S. anything.
The government literally ships a special stamp to these doctors, and if you're prescription isn't stamped with it, it isn't legit.
So no Quack doctors over there.

 

[Vans Edge]

I would assume mexican pharmacies carry a derivative of hydrocodone as I remember awhile back they had a derivative of oxycontin. However, Mexicans phams should not be trusted. From my experiences through aquaintances and research, it is hard to tell the knock-offs from legitimate AND some just enjoy turning gringos in

 

[penpilus]

I just came back from Cabo a month ago, and I can tell with you with absolute certainty that hydrocodone is not sold otc in mexico, or with a prescription in mexico. It is only sold there illegally, and usually comes from the us. Oxy's used to be sold otc there until a few years ago, when the mexi government started cracking down on the cartels. Opana, oxycontin, and morphine can only be prescribed and dispensed if stamped by a government health official. The primary stable for pain are tramadol, and some other shiz. Now that being said, you can get just about any opiate you want in mexico, a lot of times in the pharmacies; but it is definitely not legal.

I have also heard that even if you are able to buy an illegal opitate in Mexico from a pharmacy.. LE will be waiting for you once you leave the building, and they had been informed somehow that another american is trying to score...

 

[rmiller79]

Maybe some places they will be. I didn't have any problems in Cabo, but border towns are more risky.

If anyone goes to Cabo, I have a legit pharmacy there. Guy is friendly and very helpful.

 

[akl63]

Maybe some places they will be. I didn't have any problems in Cabo, but border towns are more risky.

If anyone goes to Cabo, I have a legit pharmacy there. Guy is friendly and very helpful.

Yea resort towns/tourist places can be a lot different than say Tijuana.

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The locals there know tourists will be looking for drugs, constant stream of new tourists to serve. They get a little smart and start setting up operation. Seems most big resorts I've been to, not just MX, I could find whatever I was looking for.

In Juarez, they know its more profitable to kidnap the tourists and ransom them lol. Really though juarez/tj/etc are the places where cartels are moving drugs across the border. They don't care about making $100 off some tourists, when they are dealing with 1000 times more than that daily.

In the resorts its a different story. There is a guy who works in the hotel/bar/convenience store that needs your extra $100 a lot more than some cartel thugs. I think thats part of it as well.

Mexico is always a risk though, whether you're looking for drugs or not.