Florida AG looks to take 'gas station heroin' off shelves

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (WPEC) — Pegasus, Tianaa and Zaza Red are all brand names referring to the dietary supplement known as tianeptine or as it’s more commonly called “gas station heroin.”

It’s a fitting nickname, as experts say the highly addictive pills, in many ways, mirror the effects of heroin.

“They get the same warm feeling, the fuzzy, the high, the grogginess, the numbness and pain relief, the euphoria associated with that, and like heroin, you have to start taking more and more,” said Luis Garcia, a retired Boynton Beach firefighter and founder of USA Opioid Crisis Mortality Reduction.

Only these capsules are much more accessible. They’re often found in gas stations, convenience stores and smoke shops across Florida.

“It was very easy to get. Literally the first place I walked in and asked for it,” Garcia said.

Some other countries use small doses of the drug to help treat depression and anxiety, but in the U.S., brands are selling tianeptine with 50-60% higher dosages, causing overdoses.

Severe adverse health effects, including respiratory depression, severe sedation and death have occurred from misuse.

Nationally, approximately 607 calls were made to poison control centers from 2020 to 2022. Those at Florida’s Poison Control Center said they’ve treated 65 patients overdosing on these drugs since 2020.

Now, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is looking to put a stop to it all.

Thursday, Moody filed an emergency rule to outlaw gas station heroin. Through this emergency action, tianeptine is now on the Schedule I list of controlled substances in Florida.

Tianeptine is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is attributed to five deaths nationwide.

“Tianeptine, also known as gas station heroin, is highly addictive and even deadly. The federal government reports deaths nationwide, and tianeptine is causing an increase in calls to Florida’s Poison Control Center. We are taking immediate action to outlaw this dangerous substance in our state. No one should buy, sell or use products containing tianeptine,” Moody said.

Tianeptine is banned in eight other states. including Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee, due to the highly addictive nature and severe withdrawal symptoms.

As bottles start coming down off the shelves, experts said those who have been taking the pills can expect to feel some extreme side-effects.

According to the FDA, some users may have difficulty stopping use of tianeptine and experience withdrawal symptoms similar to opioid withdrawals. Effects include agitation, drowsiness, confusion, sweating, rapid heartbeat, high blood pressure, nausea, vomiting, slowed or stopped breath, coma and death.

“There’s a very painful withdrawal if somebody's been taking these consistently. More than three or four days, they're hooked,” Garcia said.

However, the ban isn’t permanent, which is why experts want to remind everyone you can now buy Narcan over the counter and potentially save a life.

“That’s the really shocking part.This, although it's not a pain medication, although it's not fentanyl, it's not technically an opioid, it functions very much like an opioid; therefore, Narcan is part of the treatment,” Garcia said.

While this ban on gas station heroin is only temporary, Moody said she plans to work with lawmakers this year to find a more permanent solution.

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