Leg. passes bill regulating tianeptine, "gas station heroin," leaves kratom legal for now

The Mississippi Legislature has agreed on a bill that would ban the sale of tianeptine, commonly known as "gas station heroin," and the bill is now in the hands of Gov. Tate Reeves.

The pills, which are sold under brand names like ZaZa Red and Tianna, are commonly sold as supplements in gas stations, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned that it has similar addictive qualities and withdrawal symptoms to opioids, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended anyone taking it to stop before they begin to experience signs of addiction.

"This is the red ZaZa that's sold in convenience stores throughout our state that's causing so many problems," said Drug Policy Committee Chair Rep. Lee Yancey, R-Brandon. "We have letters from family members begging for us to get it off the shelves."

Yancey said that the Mississippi State Medical Association and Mississippi Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Stores Association are in favor of adding the drug.

The state House passed an amended version of House Bill 4 on Tuesday that would make tianeptine a schedule three drug, putting it in the same category as ketamine and anabolic steroids. The version of the bill that initially passed the House in February would have made tianeptine a schedule one drug, putting it in the same category as cocaine and heroin, but that was changed in the Senate.

That change would reduce simple possession of less than 100 pills from a felony to a misdemeanor, with a maximum penalty of one year in prison or a $1,000 fine. Trafficking or possession with intent to transfer would continue to be a felony.

Other bills attempted to address another product commonly sold in gas stations: the herbal extract kratom. None of those bills remain alive.

"Kratom is still out there waiting for something to happen," Yancey said. "There's not the political will to get rid of kratom at this point."

The bill will now head to the desk of Reeves for his signature, at which point it would become law.

Also Tuesday, Reeves signed a bill that reclassifies fentanyl test strips. Those strips, which can help identify fentanyl that has been added to other drugs or products, had previously been considered "drug paraphernalia."

"I’ve signed HB 722 which decriminalizes fentanyl testing strips. It’s a sad reality that fentanyl overdoses are skyrocketing as a result of an open border. This bill will help to save lives," Reeves said in a Tweet on Tuesday.

That bill had passed both chambers unanimously earlier in the session.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi Legislature passes bill to schedule tianeptine as drug