Law Enforcement Intercepts Shipment Of Tianeptine In The Philadelphia Area
The difference between a therapeutic medication and a dangerous street drug is less clear than your drug education class in elementary school made it seem. Schedule I controlled substances are the only ones that are always illegal; the controlled substances in all the other categories have at least a limited use officially accepted by the medical community. Then there are the legal gray areas, the popular recreational drugs that so many people use to self-medicate that researchers decide to study the effects of these drugs formally in the hopes of authorizing them for medical use. Besides cannabis, which is at least somewhat legal in almost every state, there have been clinical trials or local decriminalization initiatives for psilocybin mushrooms, LSD, and MDMA. Then there are the drugs whose creators wished for them to find acceptance in the medical community, but it never came to pass. Tianeptine, which has never been more than a wannabe prescription drug in the United States, is becoming increasingly prevalent in the illegal drug supply here in Pennsylvania. If you are facing criminal charges for possession of tianeptine, contact a Pittsburgh drug crime lawyer.
The Psychiatric Wonder Drug That Never Was
In the 1960s and beyond, pharmaceutical researchers were busy making drugs that had a slightly different molecular structure from commonly used medications, in the hopes that they could make a more effective version of the drug or one with fewer side effects. One of these drugs is tianeptine, which resembles tricyclic antidepressants. Beginning in the 1980s, it was prescribed in Europe, under the trade name Stablon, as a treatment for clinical depression and anxiety; some doctors even prescribed it off-label to treat irritable bowel syndrome.
There were clinical trials for tianeptine in the United States, but the FDA never approved it. The newer types of antidepressants, such as Prozac, are now the preferred treatment. Despite being illegal for this purpose, tianeptine is sometimes found as an ingredient in dietary supplements sold at convenience stores, hence its nickname “gas station heroin.”
In the News
Law enforcement intercepted a package at a post office outside Philadelphia in December 2024 and found a stash of illegal drugs. The package was labeled as though it contained ball bearings; it originated in Hong Kong. When police opened the package, they found round bags tightly packed with powder. When the forensics lab tested the powder, it turned out to be tianeptine. The weight of the drug powder in the shipment was more than 22 pounds. Police believe that, if the intended recipients of the package had received it, they would have pressed the powder into counterfeit oxycodone pills. As of May 2025, no one has been arrested in connection with this drug shipment.
Contact Gary E. Gerson About Criminal Defense Cases
A criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing criminal charges for possession or trafficking of tianeptine. Contact the law offices of Gary E. Gerson in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania about your case.
Sources:
fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/tianeptine-products-linked-serious-harm-overdoses-death
cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/philadelphia-cbp-officers-bag-22-pounds-gas-station-heroin-destined
