From: tightwhitecola Subject: Info on buying scripts in Mexico Date: Mon, 15 Dec 1997 10:02:08 -0600 Newsgroups: alt.drugs.hard,alt.drugs This info copied from Jeff Kirker's website on how to score prescription drugs in lovley Mexico. Hope it's helpful? I call them "semi-legal" nevertheless since they can be obtained through "semi-legitimate" sources, specifically foreign pharmacies. These drugs are also available in Mexico. If you were to visit a border town, you'd find that these substances can be readily attained from a border "doctor" in Mexico, which is someone who will fill out a prescription for basically anything for you, no questions asked. (Many will not fill out prescription for drugs that are completely banned in the U.S. like Rohypnol, however.) Don't worry about trying to hunt down one of these doctors - if you're young and non-Hispanic, you'll probably be approached by a "runner" as soon as you cross the border into certain border towns (in Texas, that would be Nuevo Laredo and Juarez) and asked if you need to be taken to a "pharmacy." So how does this process work? First, should you choose to venture forth on an endeavor such as this, you should walk across the border instead of driving. Aside from the fact that a) driving back across the border is a total bitch when it's busy and b) U.S. car insurance is invalid in Mexico (so you're basically fucked if anything happens to your car), it's a lot easier to find a "runner" if you cross via foot. Using Nuevo Laredo as an example, you can park in a lot in Laredo directly adjacent to the border and then walk over to Mexico (conveniently, there's a shopping mall with a large parking lot right next to the bridge to Mexico); it costs about 25 cents each way at the bridge to cross and the walk takes about 5 minutes. Assuming you are approached by a runner (which is highly likely if you walk around for a few minutes, if you aren't approached the instant you get over the border), you'll be taken to a doctor's office, where you'll be presented with a "menu" of the commonly-prescribed substances. Tranquilizers and stimulants make up the core of the list, though dozens of other drugs (most of which you'll probably not be familiar with) are available too. From the menu, you make your choices. Most prescriptions cost $10 (one prescription equals about a month's supply - and yes, you have to pay for one "prescription" per each month's supply purchased even if you get the same drug), and about $5-$30 for the drugs themselves (consider the $10 per prescription a "doctor's fee"). After getting the prescriptions, you either take them down to a pharmacy (the doctor will point you to the "right" one) or, at some offices, the doctor or one of his assistants will go get the drugs at the pharmacy for you. It's about the same price either way. The whole process can take as little as 15 minutes, if you know exactly what you want. As for U.S. law on the issue: you can't be arrested by the (Federal) border patrol solely for bringing back prescription drugs. U.S. federal law states that it's legal to bring back up to a three-month supply of prescription drugs from a foreign country (i.e. Mexico or Canada) for personal use, and the U.S. Customs officials at the border enforce federal law, not Texas state law. Why is this legal? Well, a lot of people with a genuine need for prescription drugs purchase them over the border because prices are a fraction of what they are in the United States. However, it's still a nebulous area of law and is in the process of being challenged by certain factions in Congress, but it's still nevertheless legal to bring back anything under federal law. HOWEVER, though you can bring stuff legally through Customs, it is NOT legal to possess any prescription substances purchased in Mexico under most STATE laws, unless you have a valid prescription (one from an American doctor, that is - the Mexican ones don't count for anything once you cross over the border). Hence, if you get stopped by state or local police for something, or if your car is searched at the border checkpoint (ten miles inside the U.S. border, at least when coming from Laredo), you can be arrested for possessing anything that is not OTC in the U.S. Some drugs are especially dangerous to purchase. Ritalin and many narcotic prescription substances (morphine and codeine, for instance) are labeled as Schedule II substances by the FDA; thus, possession of them without a U.S. prescription can theoretically lead to big-time shit with the authorities. Rohypnol is even worse; it has been labeled a Schedule I substance in most states (meaning it is considered to have no medicinal use whatsoever and a very high abuse potential), putting it in the same category as heroin and cocaine. (Fortunately most Mexican pharmacies won't sell Americans Rohypnol these days, since the drug is now totally banned in the U.S.) I assume an explanation of the legal trouble one can get into with substances such as the Schedule I ones isn't terribly necessary. Fortunately the law is on your side - the federal law, that is. Since state and federal laws are somewhat in opposition in this field, if you're caught with these drugs in the U.S. you have a fairly good chance of getting off the hook, assuming you have a good lawyer. (No, I don't claim to be a qualified expert in this regard; this is all merely my opinion.) Also, your odds of being stopped at the border checkpoint are pretty slim (if you're non-Hispanic and driving a relatively nice and/or nondescript automobile), and if you drive the speed limit there's no reason you should legally be pulled over on your way back into the interior U.S., so the odds of "getting away with it" are pretty high. And in regards to the border checkpoint, they legally CANNOT stop you unless they have probable cause, so if you did get stopped for literally no reason you'd have a good defense in court. 11/22/97 note: It seems that the Federal border patrol has, within the past few months, taken it upon themselves to start "hassling" people bringing back drugs across the border. While it is still legal to bring drugs through Customs, I would recommend extreme caution in dealing with the officers at the border. There's a good chance you'll be searched (and by this I mean a body pat-down and searching of everything you have on you, including wallets, purses and shopping bags) and asked questions such as: "What was the purpose of your visit to Mexico?" "Do you have any prescription drugs on you?" "Do you realize that you need a valid U.S. prescription to bring these drugs into the country?" "How old are you?" "What do you do for a living?" "Do you have any weapons or controlled substances on you?" (Note that they're referring to stuff like pot and coke when they say 'controlled substances.') What should you do if this happens? Believe it or not, you should TELL THE TRUTH. (Well, except perhaps for the purpose of visiting Mexico - saying "I went down to buy drugs" probably won't impress them much.) If you say you don't have any prescription drugs on you, theoretically they can search you anyway and if they find out you've lied to them, they can detain and/or search (by this I mean strip/body cavity search) and/or arrest you. In other words, lying about anything they can catch you on (i.e. the types of things you're carrying with you) is probably a bad idea. Since it's allowable under Customs regulations to bring prescription drugs into the country, it won't hurt you to tell them you're doing so. In any case, I'd say it's best to anticipate questions such as these and have plausible answers ready for them, and I'd most certainly avoid bringing anything into (or back from) Mexico, like a knife, gun or quarter-bag, that would get you into trouble when crossing back over. Bringing back stuff from Mexico is still generally not a problem, despite the hassles some people might experience at the border. (One side note: a recent visit revealed that the two most popular substances for Americans visiting Mexico -- Valium and Xanax (which together account for well over 70% of ALL drugs brought back into the States from Mexico trips) -- have been the victims of exorbitant price increases. By this I mean a price DOUBLING: what cost $30 a year ago (a 90-count package of 1 mg Tafil (Xanax) pills, for instance) now costs $65. I shit you not. Everything else is still roughly the same price, but the prices of these tranquilizers have gone up over 100%. Yes, that sucks, and personally I'd say it'd be easier (and cheaper) to just obtain them from your local doctor now, but obviously the doctors down there are still getting buyers for them to get away with such ripoff-level rates.) **Note: I found this not to be true Valium and Xanax are still 20 to 30 dollars for a 90 pill count bottle. If the doctor trys to charge you more I would suggest trying to talk him down or finding another cheaper doctor. Anyway, here's some info on a few of the substances commonly purchased in Mexico ... Rohypnol -- first of all, Rohypnol is NOT a legal drug in any manner in the U.S.. Its sale and possession is 100% banned in the United States, even by prescription. And, as of March, 1996, U.S. Customs put a ban on it too. Before then you could still buy the stuff in Mexico and bring it back legally under federal law (past the border ONLY, that is, just like the other drugs discussed here - it was still totally illegal to possess it once in the U.S.), but that's no longer the case. A recent visit to a Mexican doctor revealed that Rohypnol is no longer on their "menu," and since most menus there are identical, one could assume that Rophies aren't commonly sold there now. On the other hand, illegal supplies of the drug haven't dissipated one iota, according to the press, so perhaps this information is erroneous. In any case, if you do manage to buy some down there you'll have to literally smuggle it back over (hide it someplace, in other words). Given that Customs has taken to searching people rather extensively lately, however, it is safe to say this is NOT a smart idea. Rohypnol has been getting a shitload of press as of late, with our lovely "liberal" media giving it the moniker of the "date rape drug." It's even become a part of storylines on "ER" and "The X-Files" as a result of all the media attention. So what is Rohypnol? In a nutshell, it's an extremely strong tranquilizer. It's claimed by some to be ten times as strong as Valium, but I'm a little skeptical of this. Taking it in normal (i.e. one pill) doses alone doesn't do much; it's just your basic tranquilizer, albeit a powerful one. However, in high doses - or when mixed with a lot of booze, or when taken by underweight people - it has a few scary effects. Blackouts are not at all uncommon in situations such as this. Ditto with passing out in the middle of a bar. I've seen quite a few unenlightened teens being carried home by friends after overindulging in this drug. Still, tagging it the "date rape drug" is going a little far, in my opinion. In sum, Rohypnol may be trendy right now, but it's also dangerous. And totally illegal. Plus it has definite abuse potential. Ritalin -- like Rohypnol, Ritalin has also been getting a lot of press as of late, though unlike Rohypnol it's legal to prescribe it in the U.S. Ritalin is commonly prescribed to children (and adults) with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). For people who are normally hyperactive, Ritalin can help focus their attention and make them seem less anxious. Note that for people who AREN'T normally hyperactive, Ritalin acts as a stimulant. Hence its appeal. When taken orally, Ritalin is a fairly mild stimulant (in small doses, that is). However, a lot of people have been taking it nasally, in which case it allegedly has an effect similar to snorting cocaine (though several acquaintances who have snorted it deny this, I should note). Also note that Ritalin is classified is a Schedule II substance and you can easily land in jail for possession of it. Valium & Xanax -- Valium is far and away the most commonly prescribed drug for Americans purchasing drugs in Mexico, according to a 1995 University of Texas study. Nearly 70% of ALL people buying drugs in Mexico bought Valium in this study (#2 was Rohypnol, in case you were wondering, though given the stricter legal penalties placed on the substance recently I have a feeling it's probably dropped down the list a bit). Valium's effects are pretty widely-known, though, so I won't bother getting into them here. Ditto Xanax, which was the third most commonly-prescribed drug in the aforementioned study. 4/22/97 update: -- a recent trip to the border has revealed that there are quite a few very strong drugs available down there that are "hidden" behind unrecognizable Spanish names on the menus at doctors' offices. People who've seen this site in the past have requested that I find out the names of more drugs available down there, so here's a list: morphine (pill and liquid forms), codeine (mixed with Tylenol or ephedrine, in tablets and syrup), Halcion, fen-phen (the diet pill now banned in the U.S.), phenobarbital, Darvon, and a mixture of valium and Percocet. If you want to know the Spanish names for these substances, I'd suggest asking the doctors themselves. Please note: pretty much all of these substances have very serious abuse potential, and -- especially in the case of phenobarbital -- are VERY dangerous when mixed with other substances, ESPECIALLY alcohol. Everything listed in this paragraph except fen-phen is a variety of depressant and when mixed together or with alcohol, cardiac arrest, coma AND DEATH can quite easily occur. In other words, if you use these drugs, BE CAREFUL!!! taken from Jeff Kirker's web site at jumpnet.com:80/~kirker/pot.htm