Itinerant's Itinerary: Nogales, Arizona/Mexico
Nogales is a busy crossing town, since I-19 brings commercial
trucking and vehicles north and south across the Arizona-Mexico border.
But you can still walk across the border, so I joined hundreds of other
pedestrians who crossed on foot. On the Arizona side, the main street
to the border is lined with shops selling cheap shoes, baby clothes, and
costume jewelry.
Street leading to Nogales border lined with shops |
Nogales AZ border shop with inexpensive goods |
On the Mexican side, the street is lines with
farmacias, pharmacies selling name brand drugs that would require a
prescription a hundred yards away in Arizona.
Farmacia Plaza lined on both sides with nothing but pharmacies |
One of the pharmacies in Farmacia Plaza |
Thousands of U.S citizens cross the border each year to buy their prescription drugs in Mexico,
since the costs can be significantly less. I saw medicines for high
blood pressure, high cholesterol, acid reflux, and impotence all on sale
along the Farmacia Plaza, at prices less than half of what they go for
in the U.S.
Drugs to help your love life |
A decade ago, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration survey
found that 46 percent of Americans returning with medication from Mexico
were 51 years or older and that they most commonly bought antibiotics, as
well as drugs for diabetes, estrogen replacement, arthritis, impotence
and pain. Americans with chronic ailments particularly have a hard time
paying for their medicines.
Anyone living in the U.S. knows that
our health care costs are out of control and prescription drug costs are
skyrocketing. Medicare part D, the prescription drug benefit, gave
some relief to seniors, but people under 65 still struggle to pay for
medications, even if they have health insurance.
Many Mexicans who
cross into the U.S. look for cheap consumer goods, and opportunities
for work. Many U.S. citizens who cross into Mexico look for cheap
prescription drugs. These facts say much more about us in the U.S. than
about our neighbors to the south.
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