The Latest Breaking News from Chelsea Shover

‘Quadrupling of fatal overdoses among older adults should be considered in evolving policies’

LOS ANGELES — It was at least four years ago that Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officials say they began finding signs of a dangerous sedative infiltrating the local drug supply.

The U.S. State Department issued a warning Friday for Americans to “exercise caution” when buying medications from drug stores in Mexico, posting the health alert a week after a letter from two lawmakers and an investigation by the Los Angeles Times.

CAMARILLO, Calif. — Officials at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and State Department have known for more than three years that some pharmacies in Mexico are selling counterfeit medications laced with illicit fentanyl — and that American tourists are overdosing and dying from them.