An antidepressant from the 1950s is now being marketed as an over-the-counter dietary supplement to treat depression, anxiety, and opiate withdrawal, which is causing concern among health care workers and lawmakers.
The drug, tianeptine, is sometimes called “gas station heroin” because of its opiate effects, difficulty to quit without withdrawal, and availability in gas stations.
Legislation is being considered in Mississippi, Georgia, and Florida to criminalize tianeptine, and it’s been banned for over-the-counter sale in other states such as Indiana, Alabama, and Tennessee, though it can still be ordered online.
Dr. Melissa Thompson with the Ivy Creek Detox Program at Elmore Community Hospital in Wetumpka, Alabama, said it can take up to a month for someone to become mentally stable again after detoxing from tianeptine….