Tianeptine, found at convenience stores, at smoke shops and online, can mimic an opioid. It is among a growing class of substances that are difficult to control.

Often sold as a dietary supplement and promoted by retailers as a mood booster and focus aid, tianeptine is among a growing, unregulated class of potentially addictive products available in gas stations, convenience stores and smoke shops and across the internet. They typically include synthetic pharmaceuticals and plant-derived substances.

Some, like kratom and phenibut, can be addictive and, in rare cases, fatal. They often originate in other countries, including Indonesia and Russia, where they are commonly used, even prescribed, for mood management. But the Food and Drug Administration has not approved them as medicines in the United States.

“Tianeptine is an emerging threat,” said Kaitlyn Brown, clinical managing director of America’s Poison Centers, which represents and collects data from 55 centers nationwide. “We have people who are able to get a substance that’s not well regulated, that has abuse potential and that, in high doses, can cause similar effects to opioids, leading to really harmful outcomes.”

Tianeptine is a drug developed by French researchers in the 1960s as an antidepressant. It is approved in low doses for that use in many European, Asian and Latin American countries.

But at higher doses, it also works much as an opioid does, delivering short-lived euphoria. In the United States, many people take tianeptine under the widespread, mistaken belief that it is a safe alternative to street opioids like fentanyl or heroin, or even a way to taper off using them. On social media sites like Reddit, its merits are hotly debated, with more than 5,000 people subscribing to a “Quitting Tianeptine” forum.

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  • Hexasphertate@sh.itjust.works
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    5 months ago

    Lots of people buy random ass gas station “supplements” as some are research chemicals being sold under other names. Unfortunately the real fun stuff no longer pop up after the DEA cracked down on it. Here’s some examples of different RCs that were sold in gas stations.

    2C-B a serotonergic psychedelic was sold as an aphrodisiac under the brand name erox and nexus

    MDPV and 4-MMC two empathogens similar to MDMA where sold as “bath salts” under several brand names including ivory wave, purple wave, and white knight

    Famously a whole bunch of synthetic cannabinoid were sold under the brand name K2 and Spice

    DMAA a stimulate was sold under the brand iced diamonds and many other brands

    • Fades@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      Very true, this shit is always happening. Personally I’m waiting for the phenibut hammer to drop, I see it in smoke shops a lot these days. The DEA is already cracking down I heard. Also not heroin lol, closer to a benzo (except the sedation is quite delayed comparatively).

      obligatory do not fuck with bzds, no matter how confident you are it can be controlled. That’s not how the chemistry works, especially when it comes to long term (years) tolerance. Just ask anyone who had a kpin or alpraz prescription long term.

      Anyway i digress, legal 2C-B. Good times, nothin wrong with a good psychedelic. Right there along with 4-ho-met/mipt

      MDMA is where I draw the line, you can do serious harm and waste more serotonin than you’d regenerate for a long time with overdosing and/or overuse (and not much either)