Delaware legislators introduce a bill to ban the sale of tianeptine in the First State.
Tianeptine — commonly referred to as “gas station heroine” — is used in some countries to treat depression, but in the U.S., it is not approved for any medical use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The FDA has identified cases in which people experienced serious harmful effects from abusing or misusing tianeptine, noting people with a history of opioid use disorder or dependence may be at a particular risk of abusing tianeptine.
State Rep. Kim Williams’ (D-Stanton) legislation would classify tianeptine as a Schedule I substance, making it illegal to sell, possess or distribute in Delaware.
“Knowing that kids and teenagers and adults may go in there and pick something up that looks fancy and might think it will make them feel better, and then there's all kinds of side effects with this type of drug," she explained.
Currently, nine states have banned the sale of tianeptine with legislation and five states have utilized executive orders to do the same. A bill has also been introduced at the federal level to ban tianeptine sales without a prescription, classifying the drug as a Schedule III substance.
The FDA has linked the drug to dangerous opioid-like effects, including addiction, respiratory depression, loss of consciousness, overdose and even death.
“It's just unfortunate that we have to write these types of pieces of legislation in order to stop this stuff from happening, but, you know, it's something that we have to do," Williams said.
She says she was inspired to bring the bill forward after a constituent brought the drug to her attention following a warning statement issued by the Charter School of Wilmington.
Delaware’s Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Overdose Response Center have had 15 tianeptine cases reported to them over the past year — 12 in Pennsylvania and 3 in Delaware.
The bill has been assigned to the House Health and Human Development Committee.
