Since two of the most popular countries from which Americans purchase international drugs are Mexico and Canada, it makes sense that people who visit those countries will bring back cheaper drugs to the United States. Canada and Mexico neighbor the United States and are home to generally less expensive priced drugs than is the United States. Border trading of these drugs had become a popular thing to do in order purchase drugs for less, but is it better than purchasing American-made drugs?

Watch the Regulations

The problem with buying drugs across the border is people cannot be guaranteed that the drugs they are buying internationally are of the same quality they would be receiving domestically. This is because neither Canada nor Mexico has the same standards in place as the Food and Drug Administration of the United States, although Canada does have regulations of its own. Mexico, for example, does not regulate certain drugs that in the United States are administered by prescription-only. In Mexico, these drugs can be bought over-the-counter.

One example of the effect of buying drugs across the border is a Mexican town called Los Algodones. The town is located in Baja, California, which is a Mexican state. Los Algodones is not located very far from Yuma, Arizona. While Los Algodones has only about 10 streets, for example, the town has over 250 doctors and dentists and a hugely successful medical and pharmacy industry. In this small Mexican town there are about 20 pharmacies. The less expensive prices of drugs are displayed here. Celebrex, for example, sells for about $3.10 per pill at online U.S. pharmacies. In Los Algodones, it sells for 50 cents per pill.

Consumers should be aware that buying drugs that are not subject to FDA regulations could be risky. Some drugs may not have the same potency as their American counterparts or they may contain different ingredients. Also, even if the country does have regulations on that particular drug, it may differ from the regulations for its own people. For example, if Los Algodones exported Celebrex, it may be regulated as a drug used only for exports, which is much different in having strict regulations in place for the quality and substance of the drug.

If you want to buy drugs across the border, you should check the country’s regulations to see how strictly regulated the drug market is within that country.

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