"[The counterfeit drug issue is] happening in tourist hot spots across the country... In most of those locations, the pills that tested positive came from independent pharmacies, where workers sold them over the counter, one tablet at a time. But in Puerto Vallarta, counterfeits were available even at one regional pharmacy chain..."
Single-pill purchases are extraordinarily sketchy, but the article notes that some of the issue is fake bottles that look like sealed on-brand products.
Pretty sure the fentanyl pills are aimed almost entirely at tourists (recreational tourists, but also medical tourists hoping to get their prescriptions cheaper than in the US).
Seems like some pharmacies are totally willing to risk deaths (enough for a US Embassy warning) for extra profit.
And it sounds like they’re selling to people seeking recreational drugs, specifically opiates. So test your pills like you would if you were buying them off the street.
Places like Cancun and Puerto Vallarta and Playa Del Carmen are pretty awful. I’d recommend avoiding them anyways.
It was under the name Tafil and supposedly manufactured by Pfizer.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1119021696968556566/1...
There are several nationwide chains. One of which is called Farmacia Del Ahorro. A conspiracy on that scale to give out fake pills would be hard to pull off, as they source these medications on a very large scale.
The only places I could see something like this maybe working are places like Cancun, where it's so tourism focused many business straight up accept USD as currency. And the tourists don't realize they aren't going to a real pharmacy but one setup specifically to scam them.
Fentanyl also has a tendency to kill people. No legitimate pharmacy would risk that to improve their profit margins. One death would start a panic and kill their business.