Public Health and Drug Policy

Connecticut has become the latest state to crack down on tianeptine, often marketed as 'gas station heroin,' by classifying it as a Schedule I controlled substance effective Wednesday, amid a broader nationwide push to restrict the drug. The move, announced by Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, targets tianeptine products sold in gas stations, vape shops, convenience stores and online under brand names like Tianaa, ZaZa, Neptune’s Fix, Pegasus and TD Red, which officials say have been falsely marketed as safe remedies for pain, anxiety and depression and even packaged with 'candy-like' flavors that appeal to youth. The FDA and DEA warn that tianeptine, a tricyclic antidepressant never approved as a dietary supplement in the U.S., can be more potent than morphine and other opioids at higher doses and has been linked to severe sedation, respiratory depression and death. Alongside tianeptine, Connecticut also scheduled kratom (Mitragyna speciosa and 7‑hydroxymitragynine), Bromazolam, Flubromazolam, Nitazenes and Phenibut, while FDA Commissioner Martin Makary and emergency physician Dr. Robert Schwaner are publicly pressing for tighter national regulation, arguing the drug’s opioid-like action and withdrawal potential mirror heroin and other addictive opioids.