General Assembly steps up in fight against ‘gas station heroin’ | READER COMMENTARY
On April 24, The Aegis published my letter warning about the dangers and easy availability of tianeptine, often referred to as “gas station heroin.” Tianeptine is an unapproved drug in the U.S., marketed as an antidepressant, but it causes opioid-like dependency and withdrawal, seizures, cardiac arrest, nausea and vomiting, delusions, and loss of consciousness.
Good news from Annapolis: The Maryland House of Delegates and state Senate passed HB 1230, the Tianeptine Consumer Protection Act, with strong bipartisan support. Kudos again to our Harford delegates Steve Johnson and Teresa Reilly for being original co-sponsors of the bill.
Gov. Wes Moore signed the bill on April 25 as an “emergency measure,” meaning this new law is now in effect.
The law is perfectly clear. It is now illegal in Maryland for any retailer (smoke shop, convenience store, gas station) to distribute, sell, expose for sale, or advertise for sale any tianeptine product to any individual of any age. This is a modest but noteworthy improvement in our county’s efforts to reduce our serious drug problem.
Epilogue: Earlier this year, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration issued a public safety alert on the dangers and addictive nature of tianeptine. The FDA sent its alert to retailers nationwide, urging them to stop selling Neptune’s Fix and other tianeptine-containing products.
Our new law goes beyond urging. It’s now illegal in Maryland. Our health department may want to consider sending a similar letter to retailers and producing public awareness warnings for families, health care providers, businesses, and the general public.
Don Mathis, Havre de Grace