BajaNomad - Border town question

Border town question

BillP - 2-17-2010 at 12:27 PM

Dumb question here, can US citizens still make day trips to border towns without a passport? I was wondering as I wanted to walk across at Calexico/Mexicali, grab a cab to a farmicia, and come right back.

Thanks in advance

BajaGringo - 2-17-2010 at 12:28 PM

Depends...

BillP - 2-17-2010 at 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BajaGringo
Depends...

On?

David K - 2-17-2010 at 12:32 PM

Technically, yes... all land travelers are to have Passports or passport cards to identify themselves.

In reality, no... U.S. officers are still accepting the former means accepted (birth cert. + photo ID)... There is more recent (today) posts that you need only declare yourself a U.S. citizen and with some photo ID may only be detained to verify the validity of your claim.

Passports do not take very long to obtain now, should be purchased by anyone thinking of leaving the U.S. , anyway.

BajaGringo - 2-17-2010 at 12:34 PM

It depends on when you cross, which agent you encounter, your demeanor, etc etc etc.

No absolutes on this one as you are supposed to have one but I know many cross without one still. Can't give you a 100% answer on that one. Best to just have one.

Why not just get one and not have to worry about it???

[Edited on 2-17-2010 by BajaGringo]

BillP - 2-17-2010 at 12:38 PM

Thanks guys!

Bajahowodd - 2-17-2010 at 01:19 PM

Current estimates are that somewhere around 30% of Americans have passports. This figure is up from 24% when the Homeland Security folks announced the Western Hemisphere travel Initiative. However, in much of the industrialized world, passport ownership is about double that and more than Americans.

This does bring me to another point, in that it had previously been mentioned how hit and miss our border agents are in enforcing the requirement. Note that Billp expressly stated his reasons for making the trip was to go to a farmacia. As it is highly unlikely he's heading there to buy Tylenol, there are the additional murky issues about the enforcement on importation of prescription medications. Just thinking that if one is looking to bring back any significant quantities, and wishes to lower the risk factor of being hassled, having a passport will probably do just that.

Woooosh - 2-17-2010 at 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajahowodd
Current estimates are that somewhere around 30% of Americans have passports. This figure is up from 24% when the Homeland Security folks announced the Western Hemisphere travel Initiative. However, in much of the industrialized world, passport ownership is about double that and more than Americans.

This does bring me to another point, in that it had previously been mentioned how hit and miss our border agents are in enforcing the requirement. Note that Billp expressly stated his reasons for making the trip was to go to a farmacia. As it is highly unlikely he's heading there to buy Tylenol, there are the additional murky issues about the enforcement on importation of prescription medications. Just thinking that if one is looking to bring back any significant quantities, and wishes to lower the risk factor of being hassled, having a passport will probably do just that.

Oh yeah- a whole 'nother can of worms.

You can't legally get a prescription drug order filled in Mexico that you don't have a Mexican prescription for. If you are worried- most Mexican farmacias have a Doctor around the corner who can write one for you if you have your USA prescription with you. If you go to all that trouble and cross back with a passport- most agents will be cool about it depending on the quantity you try to bring back.

BillP - 2-17-2010 at 03:43 PM

I guess things have changed recently, used to be no problem picking up 3-6 month supply of things like blood pressure, diabetes, or antibiotic type drugs without a prescription and bringing the back. I know you had to have a prescription for things like Valium, etc.

Oh well............

Woooosh - 2-17-2010 at 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BillP
I guess things have changed recently, used to be no problem picking up 3-6 month supply of things like blood pressure, diabetes, or antibiotic type drugs without a prescription and bringing the back. I know you had to have a prescription for things like Valium, etc.

Oh well............

There are some fairly recent horror stories. People carrying too much back across- be it a six month supply for themselves or for multiple people. I'm sure a Nomad will find a link to more info on this for you.

David K - 2-17-2010 at 04:59 PM

Of note is the lady picking up meds in Ensenada for her boyfriend on his yacht in La Paz... The police were waiting for her on the sidewalk as she left the Farmacia with months supplies of drugs that were not hers! A simple slap on the wrist and fine would have been enough to keep her from doing it again... Instead the Mexican judge locked her up for many years as a drug traffic crook! How do you think the boyfriend feels now for asking such a favor? They are not young people either.

Does anyone know if that got resolved and was she set free... Some U.S congressmen tried to help, I think?

Bajahowodd - 2-17-2010 at 05:04 PM

My present understanding is this. The rules are, if not universally followed, that you may bring back a three month supply, as long as you have the name, address and phone number of the prescriber. That said, in the event that you were just going to ask the cab driver to take you to a farmacia, you will find much better pricing at places like Walmart and the bigger supermarket chains.

Bajahowodd - 2-17-2010 at 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by David K
Of note is the lady picking up meds in Ensenada for her boyfriend on his yacht in La Paz... The police were waiting for her on the sidewalk as she left the Farmacia with months supplies of drugs that were not hers! A simple slap on the wrist and fine would have been enough to keep her from doing it again... Instead the Mexican judge locked her up for many years as a drug traffic crook! How do you think the boyfriend feels now for asking such a favor? They are not young people either.

Does anyone know if that got resolved and was she set free... Some U.S congressmen tried to help, I think?

You have any backup for this story? Sounds very strange. Why would Mexican authorities care about Rx drug in Mexico that were legally obtained? Not to mention, why the Ensenada/ La Paz thing? There are myriad places to buy medicines in La Paz.

David K - 2-17-2010 at 05:29 PM

It was a huge story on the TV and Internet... I guess I will search Nomad for you!

Bajahowodd - 2-17-2010 at 05:31 PM

Just hope it wasn't on Fox!

Part 1

David K - 2-17-2010 at 05:35 PM

First report on Nomad:

http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=1995

Update:

http://legacy.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/2004061...

U.S. citizen loses bid to overturn controlled-substance conviction

By Sandra Dibble
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
June 15, 2004

TIJUANA – A U.S. citizen serving a five-year sentence for possessing controlled substances without a Mexican doctor's prescription has lost her last legal appeal, her attorneys said yesterday.

Dawn Marie Wilson, 49, a longtime resident of Mexico, has been in jail since April 2003, when she was stopped by Ensenada police. Her case has drawn attention in the United States as friends and fellow members of the Baja California sailing community have advocated her release.

U.S. Rep. Bob Filner, D-San Diego, also has become involved in her case.

"From the very beginning, we told Dawn that we could not assure her that she would win," said her Tijuana attorney, José Miguel Ramírez Bilbao.

According to court documents, Wilson was found with a number of controlled substances such as Valium, which can only be sold in Mexico with a Mexican doctor's prescription.

Ramírez said Wilson never denied that the drugs had been in her possession, but claimed she was using them as treatment for an epileptic condition caused by falling from a horse as a child.

But in a handwritten statement written from prison a month after her arrest, Wilson never mentioned the controlled substances. Instead, she wrote, she had been carrying a bottle of 90-100 pills of anti-convulsion drugs that do not require a prescription in Mexico.

She said she was also carrying an over-the-counter medication for nervousness purchased in El Cajon, as well as two types of diabetes medicine obtained through the Veterans Hospital in La Jolla for a friend in Baja California.

Wilson's attorneys, hired after the original trial, have argued that she was not given a fair hearing before a federal judge in Ensenada. They said Wilson, who speaks little Spanish, should have had an interpreter present. They also argued that the medications in question were never properly tested.

"We believe that there was not strict adherence to the law," Ramírez said. "While it is certain she was carrying the pills, legally it was never proven."

After two earlier appeals failed, the attorneys sought remedy from a three-judge panel in Mexicali alleging violation of Wilson's constitutional rights. The appeal was turned down Wednesday, Ramírez said.

Liza Davis, a spokeswoman at the U.S. Consulate, said Wilson could request a transfer to a U.S. prison for the remainder of her sentence.

According to the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana, Wilson is one of 245 U.S. citizens serving sentences on the Baja California peninsula. Of those, a dozen have been convicted for violations involving pharmaceuticals.

Filner said the U.S. State Department should be taking more steps to aid American citizens who get into trouble with Mexican authorities.

"We tried to get the ambassador involved. We tried to get the secretary of state involved. They take a very passive stance. They watch what happens," Filner said. "It seems to me they have to be aggressive on behalf of American citizens, to make sure they know what is going on."

[Edited on 2-18-2010 by David K]

Part 2

David K - 2-17-2010 at 05:45 PM

posted on 12-11-2004 at 08:23 AM

Dawn Wilson finally freed.

Here's a link in the Sacto Bee about her release etc.

I'm glad she's safe and all but I think there are details in her story that have not come out - something just doesn't smell right to me - but that's just my feeling.

And then you have someone from the Bustamante clan putting in their 2 cents - funny - yeah - like he's not familiarwith the case - and his family doesn't know any narco-types.

-------

http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/11728520p-12616615c...

DUBLIN - It is a gift of unparalleled worth: Freedom.
It belongs now to Dawn Marie Wilson.

After 17 months in a Mexican prison, and three more months locked up on this side of the border, the 49-year-old San Diego woman walked away Friday from the Federal Correctional Institution in the East Bay city of Dublin.

Her crime: Carrying a large quantity of prescription drugs in Mexico without a Mexican doctor's prescription.

For this - for the urge to save time and money - the seafaring woman who lived with her fiance aboard a boat learned a harsh lesson about the laws of foreign countries, the rights of Americans and the indifference of U.S politicians where so-called drug cases are concerned.
Rep. Bob Filner, D-San Diego, is so disturbed by her case that he wants to hold congressional hearings.

"This is going on, and people had better understand what can happen to them," he said. "And our government has got to figure out how to deal with Mexico."

Filner was the only U.S. official who helped bring Wilson to this precious moment, when she was reunited at the Dublin-Pleasanton BART station with her devoted companion, Terry Kennedy, who waged a relentless campaign for her release. He slipped onto her finger the diamond ring he had designed, two dolphins encircling the stone that belonged to his mother.

"It's been this dream of mine for 20 months," she said.

Yet for all the joy, for all the hugs and tears and loving exchanges, there remains a cautionary tale for anyone who has ever flirted with the idea of buying medication in a foreign country.

Much has been written about Canada, and the rush by U.S. citizens to import cheaper medication from our neighbor to the north.

A lot less has been said about Mexico, where farmacias in border towns post brightly colored signs, advertising a smorgasbord of popular prescription drugs.

It is in this cultural climate - here at home, and in Mexico -that Dawn Wilson fell into the trap.

The terrible journey began in April 2003, when Wilson and Kennedy agreed to rendezvous at the couple's 45-foot trimaran, Manta, docked in Puerto Escondido.

They had been living on the five-bedroom boat and, together and separately, had cruised the waters of Baja California for two decades. On this occasion, they planned to take friends on a diving vacation.

But first, Wilson wanted to make a side trip to Tijuana to buy a three-month supply of her anti-seizure medication, Dilantin. She said she had also picked up several bottles of diabetes medication in San Diego, which she agreed to deliver to her ex-husband in Mexico.

Exactly which prescription drugs were in her backpack would later become a matter of dispute, contributing to her legal troubles. But Wilson is unwavering; she was carrying that medication, she repeated Friday.

But bad luck awaited. On April 11, 2003, she had a minor traffic accident in the port city of Ensenada. She spent the night with friends, then set off on foot the following morning to meet the insurance adjuster.

She never made it.

A Jeep-load of Mexican police officers pulled her over, asked her questions and searched her backpack. They found the pills - but no Mexican doctor's prescription, as required by law.

What happened next is, as the couple tell it, a story line ripped from the film "Midnight Express." They say her bank cards disappeared, with about $4,000 later drained from her accounts. She was shuffled in the darkness from one location to the next. A Mexican attorney took thousands of dollars, then failed to present a defense - including the fact that she had a medical condition, or that she lived on a boat and often stocked up on medicine and other supplies.

Wilson was never quite sure of the charges against her and could not understand the judicial proceedings. But when they were finished, Dawn Wilson - a woman with no criminal record on either side of the border - was sentenced to five years in prison. Instead of a five-bedroom boat, her new home was a cramped, filthy cell at Ojos Negros federal penitentiary in Ensenada.

The long wait had begun.

Terry Kennedy always assumed the U.S. government would rush to the rescue. After all, Wilson - his "lady," as he calls her - had valid U.S. prescriptions. He had medical paperwork detailing her seizure disorder.

A Vietnam veteran, Kennedy believed the absurdity of her predicament would strike a chord with politicians.

He was wrong.

For months, the 61-year-old boater sent e-mails and letters to every public figure he could think of - from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer to Oprah Winfrey. He pleaded, he cajoled, he raged, he despaired.

Back in the States, a boating friend built a Web site dedicated to Wilson's plight. Her ordeal held particular interest to many in the boating community, who were swapping stories about her arrest and imprisonment.

Wilson's following grew as the California-based sailing magazine Latitude 38 chronicled her saga.

Kennedy visited her regularly in prison, where he was appalled by conditions. He was alarmed that she was not receiving her anti-seizure medication, and that medical care for a painful broken hand had been minimal.

Yet despite the couple's perceived isolation, one U.S. politician - Bob Filner - had heard their pleas. Wilson was not from his district, but her case disturbed him. Initially, he helped Kennedy find more reputable lawyers to guide Wilson's appeals.

But Filner would ultimately prove to be a powerful and influential ally.

After Wilson's final appeal was rejected in June, Filner went to work on a new tack. Why not get her transferred to the United States under the prisoner exchange treaty with Mexico? Under the arrangement, the U.S government can't change a sentence imposed by Mexico, but it can make a paroling decision - which could mean early release.

Filner began making calls.

The couple had hope again.

While Filner and others maneuvered for her transfer, other similar cases were surfacing.

In July, a 66-year-old Phoenix retiree, Raymond Lindell, made national news after spending eight weeks in a Mexican prison for buying 270 Valium tablets for his wife in Nogales, without a Mexican prescription. A 22-year-old Susanville man, David Andrews, was locked up for two months this summer in Tijuana after stocking up on Xanax, an anti-anxiety medication.

The U.S. government has cautioned citizens. On the U.S. State Department Web site, a travel sheet on Mexico recommends that "U.S. citizens not travel to Mexico for the sole purpose of buying prescription drugs.

"The Mexican list of controlled medication differs from that of the United States," it warns, "and Mexican public health laws concerning controlled medication are unclear and often enforced selectively."

Alfonso Bustamante, director of international relations for the city of Tijuana, was not familiar with Wilson's case. But he knows there is a problem, both with Americans not understanding Mexican law and with "corrupt pharmacies" willing to step outside the law to make a sale. The city, he said, is beginning to crack down on those pharmacies and has created a brochure for visitors explaining Mexican law.

"We don't want your people coming down here and buying something illegal we know can get you in trouble," he said.

The U.S. Consulate in Tijuana - which Kennedy claims turned its back on his fiancee - has indicated that her case was not as black and white as it might seem. A spokeswoman said last summer that the list Mexican police gave the consulate of the 445 pills Wilson purportedly was carrying made no mention of Dilantin or its equivalent, but was an assortment of prescription painkillers, sedatives, anti-anxiety medication and diet pills.

Still, no one has ever asserted that Wilson was carrying illegal drugs, such as heroin, methamphetamine or marijuana.

The issue has always been prescription drugs.

Wilson got her transfer to the U.S. prison system in September, where the processing and paperwork proved daunting - even to Filner, an experienced government man. "The paperwork is just so ridiculous," he grumbled this week, as the process seemed hopelessly stalled. "It's paper to these people, not a person."

In the end, a U.S. probation officer recommended a sentence of zero to six months for her crime - time she had already served in Mexico, and then some. The U.S. Parole Commission concurred but placed her under six months' supervised release.

The couple have little money left and no certain place to go. Wilson walked out of prison with a few toiletries, instant coffee and a long list of things to do, among them walk on the beach.

A calm, easygoing woman with deep dimples, Wilson said she'd like to help a Christian organization counsel women released from Mexican prisons.

She definitely will help Filner in congressional hearings. "You bet I will," she said. "I don't want anyone to go through what I had to go through."

k-rico - 2-17-2010 at 06:05 PM

I remember this story. What I read indicated she had a boatload of pills. I think it's generally true, any drug that can be resold on the street to get high is something to stay away from in Mexico, even if you have a prescription. Certainly just buy a small amount if you must, and get it home quick.

Bajahowodd - 2-19-2010 at 05:06 PM

Geez. So, she was carrying like 445 pills, and now wants to get involved with a Christian organization counseling women. How heartwarming.

David K - 2-20-2010 at 09:58 AM

445 pills is nothing... 7 bottles maybe? If you bother to read the story, you know she was picking them up for her companion and not doing it for resale or drug addiction.

The Gull - 2-20-2010 at 10:17 AM

A friend of mine told me...

Woooosh - 2-20-2010 at 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by The Gull
A friend of mine told me...

I'll just keep waiting until someone comes forward to claim you as a friend Gull... flying rats attract very few followers.

(just kidding ya)... :lol:

mtgoat666 - 2-20-2010 at 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by David K
A Jeep-load of Mexican police officers pulled her over, asked her questions and searched her backpack. They found the pills - but no Mexican doctor's prescription, as required by law.

What happened next is, as the couple tell it, a story line ripped from the film "Midnight Express." They say her bank cards disappeared, with about $4,000 later drained from her accounts. She was shuffled in the darkness from one location to the next. A Mexican attorney took thousands of dollars, then failed to present a defense - including the fact that she had a medical condition, or that she lived on a boat and often stocked up on medicine and other supplies.

Wilson was never quite sure of the charges against her and could not understand the judicial proceedings. But when they were finished, Dawn Wilson - a woman with no criminal record on either side of the border - was sentenced to five years in prison. Instead of a five-bedroom boat, her new home was a cramped, filthy cell at Ojos Negros federal penitentiary in Ensenada.

There are a number of people in mexican law enforcement and judicial system that are amused by screwing around with gringos and convicting them for minor crimes or convicting them for no crime at all. Unfortunately, when you run across these individuals your life is ruined.

Gringos should be aware that traveling in mexico could result in arbitrary/capricious incarceration to amuse bureaucrats with evil in their hearts.

The police and judicial system has evil people. The police and judical system is not good at policing itself and ridding itself of bad apples.

Never trust law enforcement in mexico or US

Bajahowodd - 2-20-2010 at 01:41 PM

I won't dispute what you are saying. But I also think the coverage of this story was slightly one-sided. After all, if she was so severely railroaded in Mexico, why did she still spend three months in the pokey NOB?

wessongroup - 2-20-2010 at 02:01 PM

"but was an assortment of prescription painkillers, sedatives, anti-anxiety medication and diet pills."

Now isn't that the normal "medicine cabinet" contains... she got caught with it...

"But bad luck awaited. On April 11, 2003, she had a minor traffic accident in the port city of Ensenada. She spent the night with friends, then set off on foot the following morning to meet the insurance adjuster."

Big mistake, she was walking .... she's not in her car.. or in a taxi.. "Gringo woman" walking around, guess what, it's not the States.. you attract attention, yes but the wrong kind down here..

Not being an arm chair quarter back.. as we (wife) and I have already gone over this.. and don't carry mediation unless absolutely required and then in the container which came from the Pharmacy, with the Doctors name and phone. Had checked on this before coming down in October, I take a lot of medications, so I asked what would be required by the Mexican Health Department.. yeah, I know ... there will always be someone that may tell me .. you don't have a Mexican Doctors prescription for that.. and that would be correct.. but, don't carry 455 pills with me.... so I'm not going to worry about it.. and those that I do carry in fact have a prescriptions written and are on file with the Pharmacy which supplied same to me.. their number is also on the vial..

I would not like to do any time in a Mexican jail for anything.. have seen the inside of one when young.. and I would not want to spend any of my time or money in one.. so I'm not going to be buying "drugs" from a Pharmacy without a Doctors prescription

[Edited on 2-20-2010 by wessongroup]

[Edited on 2-20-2010 by wessongroup]

The Gull - 2-20-2010 at 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Woooosh

Quote:

Originally posted by The Gull
A friend of mine told me...

I'll just keep waiting until someone comes forward to claim you as a friend Gull... flying rats attract very few followers.

(just kidding ya)... :lol:

Where's the lifeguard station?

Beachgirl - 2-21-2010 at 05:54 AM

SD News 12/3/04 claimed she was driving when she was stopped, and had an American prescription for the drugs. Then it said she was stopped because she was wearing shorts...uh...then it said the cops charged $4200 on her credit cards.

Another article said she had the meds, was driving South, swerved to avoid furniture in the road, hit a concrete barrier and spent the night with a friend. Following morning she was walking to the mechanic's to pick up her Toyota and the cops stopped her because she was hitchhiking. Then they searched her purse.

Who knows what really happened with all this conflicting info.

Maybe her arrest was prompted by her road accident. Maybe the pharmacy was on a hot list with the cops, and she was the bad example the cops set to punish them.

Seems it would have been pretty easy to get a Mexican script for anti-seizure meds to avoid any trouble, but some articles claim she had pain killers and diet pills and who knows what.

All seems kind of crazy with "real" drug dealers out there.

In the end because we will apparently never know the actual truth in this matter, we should all just stay under the wire and be good visitors in this country. Get a script for your meds, don't hit concrete barriers, and don't wear shorts!

Bajahowodd - 2-21-2010 at 01:46 PM

And here i thought you could get arrested for NOT wearing shorts! :lol: