Pharmacies Sell Medications Without Prescriptions

(Acapulco, NA 28 October) The undersecretary of Regulation, Control and Sanitation, Saúl López Silva, advised publicly that at least one-fifth of all pharmacies in Guerrero sell prescription medications to the public without requiring the doctor’s authorization. “Warnings have been issued,” he said. “If they continue to be out of compliance, selling medications and antibiotics without prescription, we will impose tough economic sanctions and may even shut them down.”

The main concern is with antibiotics, which, if taken without proper medical supervision, can lead to strains of illness that are resistant to the drugs currently available. Thus, the sale of antibiotics without physician authorization or supervision creates an especially worrisome public health hazard.