Fayette County coroner urges nationwide ban of ‘gas station heroin’ after accidental overdose

For the first time, someone in Fayette County has died from an overdose of the drug tianeptine.

Now the coroner is speaking out - calling the drug ‘gas station heroin’. He said it’s one of the most addictive drugs they’ve ever seen come through the area.

“It’s sold at whatever levels, in whatever products, in whatever names they want,” Fayette County Coroner Dr. Bob Baker said.

He says the drug is readily available with zero regulation.

“In the United States, it is not FDA approved; therefore, the dosage, the amount, everything is unregulated,” Dr. Baker said. “Whatever you are buying, we have no idea about the levels that are in it.”

He said the drug, known to be more addictive than heroin, is flying under the radar because it’s legal to buy, use and sell in Pennylvania.

The popular brands in which the drug is found are TD Plus, Neptunes Fix and Pegasus. It can be sold as a pill, powder, or even gummies.

“My goal currently is to get this banned in the United States, or to a schedule one drug where it would be a controlled substance with the DEA and the FDA,” Dr. Baker said. “Then our law enforcement agencies would be able to do their job and stop the sale of the drug.”

Tianeptine is already illegal in 15 states. The coroner said it’s important to put new legislation restricting this drug at the forefront, before more people die.

“It’s too many times that we get behind and now we’re talking about recovery, breaking addictions, losing lives,” Dr. Baker said. “So if we can get ahead and get this off of our streets and protect our kids in the future, then we can potentially stop a pandemic or epidemic before it gets out of hand.”

Because the drug acts as an opioid, the coroner is advising people to use Narcan if someone who might be overdosing on it. Although not fool proof, it should be able to reverse the effects for the most part, as they work to learn more about the drug.

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