Easy to get cheap drugs in Mexico with no script - Kathryn Reed (2023)

July 10, 2019|Expat|32 comments

I'm not sure a well-stocked medicine chest (do people even call it that anymore?) equals an ounce of prevention. Still, I'm ready for almost anything.

Mexico and the United States are polar opposites when it comes to dealing with pharmaceutical drugs. I didn't need a prescription for anything I bought in Mexico. Although I had a script from the doctor to beMay bitten by a dog,this was really to tell the pharmacist what I needed - not permission to have the drug.

After checking with my sister Pam, a nurse, she told me to get another antibiotic. No problem. The pharmacy sold me what I requested.

In the spring, one of my sisters wanted prednisone. Again, no problem, except that you have to go to more than one pharmacy. A friend flew it back to the US. Customs didn't care. Rules for importing medications into the US include: keep in original packaging, declaration, quantity for personal use only (ie no sale of the medication), and a doctor's certificate or actual prescription showing that the medication was used be under medical supervision. Apparently they didn't ask for the latter.

It's not just what people in the US think of as prescription drugs available in Mexican pharmacies. They also have sunscreen, nail polish remover, and other items that a US pharmacy would have on the shelves. Anti-itch cream for mosquito bites is probably what I will buy most often. My usual over the counter purchases in the US were Advil and Excedrin Migraine. I know I can get the former at Costco. I guess I could get some sort of migraine medication at a pharmacy in Todos Santos or maybe one of the larger grocery stores in Cabo. Luckily no headaches since last August.

I know six pharmacies in Todos Santos. This applies to a city with 6,000 inhabitants. It's obvious they're trying to lure tourists in with signs saying they speak English and outside walls listing what's available. NPR reports, “The U.S. government estimates that nearly 1 million people travel to Mexico each year in California alone for healthcare, including to purchase prescription drugs. And between 150,000 and 320,000 Americans cite healthcare as a reason for traveling abroad each year. Cost savings are the most frequently cited reason.”

Aside from being able to buy contraceptives, Viagra, antibiotics and other medications without being looked after by a doctor, people in Mexico will spend a lot less. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development says individuals in the United States spend the most on retail drugs per year compared to people in any other country - $1,200. According to Reuters, “U.S. Prices for the 20 best selling medicines in the world are on average three times higher than in the UK.”

This all got me wondering if maybe I should load up on some meds in Mexico even though I don't take a lot of meds. I asked Pam what medicines would be good to have on hand. She sent me a list: Zithromax (Z-Pack), Keflex (Cephalexin), Prednisone, Diflucan, Macrobid, and Cipro. I showed the list to the pharmacist and he invited me. You were out of Macrobid. I also bought two tubes of pain relief cream similar to what my friend Sue had left. She had the prescription for an ankle injury. I kept it for my aching wounds. I spent about $80 on everything. In a way, that seems like a lot of money for someone who doesn't do a lot of drugs. On the other hand, I know it was a fraction of what I would have paid in the US under my last health plan. Now I just have to figure out what to take when, or hope I never really need what's in the medicine cabinet.