pharms & ketamine: available over the counter in South & Central America

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psytaco

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Hey guys,

I'm going to the Americas (US, South & central america) for 5 months. i have friends in the states and I am alot more familiar with pharms and the drug situation there as it seems to be pretty similiar to Australia. however, I am not the cluely about latin america. The countries in Latin America i will going to are: Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Panama, Costa Rica. Maybe guatamala, nica, and mexico.

Is it possible to get rx drugs like benzos and opiates over the counter in these countries? also, is it possible to get ketamine over the counter in these countries? or will I need a script to have any hope (obviously can't get a script for K but benzos isn't too hard).

One last question, I know cocaine and weed are prevlent in these countries but I do like psychedelics also. Are magic mushrooms commonly sold out of restuarants and bars (like they do in South East Asia). What about mescaline?

thanks
 
mexico is what i know best, but it isn't much: the coke there tends to be really shitty, but pretty cheap. as far as ket, if you've got the balls to go into a vet shop and ask for it, then do so. i'm too chicken to do that still. it is NOT legal, and i know that in places like argentina and brazil you're gonna have a hard time getting stuff like that. i can score tons of drugs in downtown san francisco easier than i can in mexico city. but that's just one place. if you like tramadol and soma then you'll love mexico, as they are completely legal there. if you speak spanish well then you could try getting stuff like GBL from a chemical supplier. you can buy benzos at about a buck per pill in border towns, usually if you buy 100 at a time. which is a rip off, but w/o a script it's not so bad (still about the same price as buying from a dealer in the states tho!)

and if you like shrooms then go to palenque, chiapas (mexico). otherwise just ask around in hippy/tourist places. they grow everywhere...
 
I went to all of those South American countries.
First of all, there's not really "benzos" or "opiates" available. Valium or Xanax and Codeine or Morphine, That's all.
You can get Diazepan and sometime Alprazolam OTC. But not in Colombia. Colombia has super-strict Rx drug laws. You can still get tramadol though OTC.

Your best bet is small towns.

Tramadol is OTC everywhere. Codeine is hit-or-miss and only the semi-sketchy places sell it OTC, the really sketchy places you can find morphine for sale "OTC"
Alot of times there is a deal set up where a pharmacy in a small town will tell you to go to the doctor who is usually next door, and (this is why you carry a stash of american money) slap a 5 spot down and get your prescriptions written. You gotta know the drug names, not trade or brand names, and your spanish should be decent.

As for Hallucinogens...
In Peru and Bolivia you can find San Pedro cactus, sometimes in the market in dried resin or powder form, but more often you have to find a shaman who will administer it to you.
If you venture into the Amazon, you might be able to try Ayahuasca, same deal with San Pedro, be on the lookout for ayahuasceros.

I never saw mushrooms for sale, but did find a bunch growing in some Llama poop at the Coricancha Pyramids in Ecuador (Is that sourcing? haha)

As for weed, be careful, usually the bartender or a cook or someone can hook you up if you stay in hotels. If you stay in hostels, it is super easy if you find someone who has been there for a few days already.
Be really careful making street deals, I did and never got rolled, arrested, etc, but I grew up doing this shit.
As for coke: it's the thing that the police come down on hardest and that street dealers will rip you off on the most. Often dealers and cops work in pairs and you get picked up right after the deal then have to pay a bribe. There's also like fuckin paramilitary police in alot of these countries and cities so don't fuck around on the street too much.

Edit: Also Coca leaves are legal in Peru and Bolivia so as soon as you get there get a bunch of fresh leaves and a coffee grinder and grind like 2 kilos and put them in liquor (Pisco probably) wait 2-3 days and you will get a nice coke buzz from the liquor.
also, chewing them is great. And the tea is good.
 
^ cheers man. thats some good advice.

I'm planning on doing an ayahuasca ceremony in iquitos, peru. Might do a san pedro one. I don't suppose extracted mescaline is ever sold at markets or sold by dealers. this is sadly a drug that is never seen in Australia (unless you do an extraction yourself). so its something I would like to try.

Never had tramadol, but am pretty experienced with benzos. They are not something I would want to take everyday (used to have a habit), but they are nice for a hangover or when you have a long and uncomfortable bus trip. Morphine would be nice. Codeine i have done to death in Australia.

thanks for the advice about the coke. buying off the street is not something I want to do. I did it in South East Asia which is arguably more dangerous with much more serious penalties, and it was fucking anxiety provoking. if possible I would go through the hostel, or let someone else take the risk. A bit selfish, I know, but fuck having to deal with courts or the police in one of those countries.
 
Yeah, the codeine is a little different as you can get pure pills or syrup so you don't have to CWE.
They don't know what the fuck hydro or oxycodone are. You might get lucky and find morphine or fentanyl. I don't know. Check the WHO list of required medication to see what they will have at the least.

No extracted mescaline, no, But there is powdered San Pedro, which is similar and you can take on your own terms.

There aren't really "hard" drug dealers there, like its mostly weed and coke on the street and pharms. Best of luck, have a good trip, and brush up on your spanish.
Oh, and you should definitely go to club PEOPLE in Panama City. It was fucking crazy. I got bottle service with 3 bottles one night so I got sat in VIP and it was only like $90 cuz everything is so cheap, the next night I came back dressed nice with some good looking chicks with me, and the owner comped everything. He had a key of coke spilling out of a bundle on his desk in the back. That was a crazy good time. If you like clubbing, its great. I even got to spin a set.

Also in like small towns in Peru and stuff there are like house-party bars which is like someone's house with a $5 cover for 2 drinks and a bunch of cool, younger people if you aren't into the club scene.
 
muvolution, which countries were you having such good luck in getting morphine and codeine? Morph in mex is really tricky (and overpriced).
 
Just go to the sketchiest place possible. It's not going to be safe, but that's why they dont get busted and can sell drugs like morphine or ketamine over the counter.
 
llamer said:
muvolution, which countries were you having such good luck in getting morphine and codeine? Morph in mex is really tricky (and overpriced).
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Panama mostly. I picked up a script which was just one low-demoniation american bill for the appointment, basically a dollar a script. I got several hundred alprazolam, several hundred diazepan, several dozen bottles of codeine cough syrup, and a couple hundred Morphine Sulfate pills.
Other places that worked out well were Cartagena, Colombia; Quito and Cuenca, Ecuador, Chiclayo, Peru has a good pharmacy and a good market.
In and around Central-Southern Peru where Machu Pichu is it gets much easier to get Benzos and stuff, and all around The Sacred Valley there is open-air street markets for weed and coke. The weed is usually straight, but the coke is often a rip-off. You can get totally off your ass with good coke, but bad just brings you down.
It was really the small towns in Panama and Ecuador which helped get my shit going.
 
muvolution, what could you get OTC in Colombia? I'm in Santa Marta atm, might try a few pharmacies tomorrow...
as for the OP, i've been traveling around south america for the last 5 months,
Bolivia is by far the easiest and cheapest country for drugs, diazepam, alpraz. tramadol and codeine are all easy to get OTC, 1 out of 10 will knock you back. Ketamine is very possible with good spanish, a few travelers i've met have had luck in veterinarians, smaller towns are easier, but also possible in the bigger cities, even la paz. Most taxi drivers in la paz will have coke, there's also no exact locations
Had no luck in Peru, was told both tramadol and codeine were only by prescription, they seem to be really strict with narcotics. In cities like Cusco you will see shaman shops and posters advertising ayauashca and san pedro experiences.
Brazil is quite strict also with pharmaceuticals, never had luck there.
Do a few spanish lessons in Bolivia, it's cheap and will help you heaps in your travels.
 
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Peru was awesome for me. Once I got into the sacred-valley area, pretty much everything was OTC. A 450mg bottle of codeine was cheaper than a starbucks latte.

In Colombia all I think I could get was Tramadol OTC, no codeine.

I got super-duper sick when I was in cartagena and had to get antibiotics from the hospital, so while I was there I explained that I had extended my vacation and needed more diazepam/ lorazepam and the nurse was really hesitant, but wrote me a script for 3 (three) Ativan (BTW, their Rx's there are crazy - it's a triple copy, they keep one, the pharmacy keeps one, and the one you turn in gets sent somewhere.) Anyways, when I went to the pharmacy the clerk was confused about the script, so she asked if I wanted 3 pills or 3 cases of pills, I was like, 3 cases, of course, so I got 200 2mg Ativan and 200 1mg Ativan down there. Best bet would be to find a low-key pharmacy NOT in a big city.

EDIT: and I would seriously not fuck around AT ALL in Colombia, I lucked into those pills, but I wouldn't look for street drugs. I got chased down the length of the Plaza de la Aduana by a pissed off Colombian with a knife. Glad i had mah runnin shoes on.
 
Peru was awesome for me as well. I was there for 4 months and got to know alot of really friendly people. I was scared at first to try and locate pain meds for my recent injury. but I went to the hospital there and they were very helpful in treating me and it was damn cheap too! Peru rocks! I agree about colombia muvolution, that place is freakin scary!
 
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