Fayette coroner calls for ban on 鈥榞as station heroin鈥� after fatal overdose
Fayette County鈥檚 coroner called for a nationwide ban on tianeptine Tuesday after the county had its first accidental overdose death due strictly to the drug.
Also referred to colloquially as 鈥済as station heroin,鈥� tianeptine is most commonly sold in retail outlets like vape shops or online, Dr. Bob Baker said. It鈥檚 sold under product names such as TD Plus, Neptune鈥檚 Fix and Pegasus.
The drug, not approved for medical use by the Food and Drug Administration, was first distributed in Europe in the 1980s as an antidepressant.
It acts on opioid receptors in the body, which can lead to respiratory depression and, in some cases, death, said Dr. Ariana Barkley of WVU Medicine Uniontown Hospital.
鈥淲e want families to understand that this drug is dangerous, and that any substance not prescribed or recommended by a trusted health care provider may not be safe,鈥� said Barkley, an emergency department physician who is fellowship-trained in addiction.
Baker had spoken with members of the county鈥檚 Drug and Alcohol Commission who told him about the opioid-like substance, which he said is highly addictive.
鈥淭hey had a couple of patients who were detoxing, and they said it was worse than coming off a heroin overdose,鈥� he said.
Baker said the person who died in Fayette County was middle-aged and otherwise healthy. Because the drug is unlicensed, there was no way to tell how much they鈥檇 consumed, or in what form, he said.
If people think they are overdosing, Baker said, Narcan could potentially help reverse the effects of the tianeptine, which he said acts as a respiratory suppressant.
Although this was Baker鈥檚 first time seeing the drug in a fatality, it鈥檚 becoming 鈥渧ery prevalent鈥� around Philadelphia and the eastern part of the state, he said.
The Greene and Washington county coroner鈥檚 offices locally said they could not recall the drug coming up in any recent toxicology reports.
Across the country, poison control center cases related to tianeptine exposure rose from four cases in 2013 to around 350 in 2024, according to the National Poison Data System.
Baker is recommending federal legislation to place the drug under Schedule I, which would ban its sale and possession.
鈥淚鈥檇 like to be on the forefront, rather than get caught flat-footed,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd then the laws take so long to get into effect, and now we鈥檙e beating or fighting addiction, overdose deaths. If we can catch this up front, I really think we鈥檇 be ahead of the curve.鈥�
Fifteen states have banned the drug, most recently Connecticut.
Efforts are also underway to do the same in Pennsylvania, with bills pending in the House and Senate.
Rep. Andrew Kuzma, whose district includes parts of Washington and Allegheny counties, introduced House Bill 377, which would ban the sale, possession and manufacture of the drug.
Kuzma introduced the bill in response to an issue one of his constituents was having.
Since then, he鈥檚 received testimonials from people throughout the state telling him how the drug has impacted them. They mainly fall into two groups, he said: truckers who are looking for a way to stay awake, and teenagers and early adolescents who are vaping.
Some people are using up to eight bottles a day, he said, with overdoses potentially leading to coma or death.
鈥淚t鈥檚 overdosing on something almost identical to heroin, and there鈥檚 absolutely no reason why it should be sold here,鈥� he said. 鈥溾�t鈥檚 a sketchy, sketchy dietary supplement we have to get rid of.鈥�
The bill unanimously passed out of the Judiciary Committee.
鈥淎side from the manufacturers,鈥� Kuzma said, he hadn鈥檛 heard of any disapproval for banning the drug.
鈥淓very advocacy group on every end of the spectrum is in favor of this,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e have bipartisan support, unanimous out of the Judiciary Committee, and I see us having a pretty good likelihood of getting signed into law.鈥�