- Kratom, sometimes referred to as “gas station heroin,” is an herb with opioid- and stimulant-like effects.
- It can be fatal in very high doses but is not subject to much federal regulation.
- So states and cities have been banning kratom sales or enacting rules and restrictions.
“Gas Station Heroin” is tianeptine, which absolutely is s dangerous and incredibly addictive. Conflating that term with Kratom is foolish, it is mildly addictive but not super easy to get addicted to unless you like the taste of powdered ass coating your mouth multiple times a day. Tianeptine comes as easy to consume capsules with a much stronger high for your dollar. Yes Kratom comes in capsules but you’ll ditch them long before you’re truly addicted. I don’t think any psychoactive substance should be sold in gas stations, I think it’s where underage kids got the Juuls that got flavors banned and put in disposables instead. Headshops are the places that should be selling legal highs
Yeah, I was about to say, they are repeatedly getting the street name of these drugs wrong. The headline makes it sound like it’s about Zazas.
As an aside, I’m pissed about Tia. The sulfate especially worked wonders on my anxiety and depression with no major side effects.
it being in the grey market (due to shitty politics) instead of being recognized like other countries as legitimate medicine leading to it’s abuse is a real problem.
All I hear about is the side effects and it sounds like a drug id really like so I avoid it like crazy, like never tried it crazy. And I have tried several questionable things.
Those side effects arent the ‘norm’ though. They are a result of long term high dose usage. (Plus gas station quality control)
Using proper dosage (and legit formula not cut with anything else) side effects are potentially no worse than any other drug/ tricyclic antidepressant.
Aren’t being addicting and easy to abuse properties of the tricyclic antidepressants and the reason they’re rarely prescribed nowadays?
Not really.
And Tianeptine is an atypical tricyclic anyways.
But to address your question specifically:
Taken from National Library of Medicine - …“Although TCAs demonstrate equivocal efficacy with SSRIs when treating MDD, these medications cause more significant adverse effects due to their anticholinergic activity and lower threshold for overdose. Due to these factors, TCAs are typically not considered the first-line treatment for MDD, even though they have been proven highly effective in managing severe or treatment-refractory depression”…
And from wikipedia - “Adverse effects have been found to be of a similar level between TCAs and SSRIs”
…“Newer antidepressants are thought to have fewer and less severe side effects and are also thought to be less likely to result in injury or death if used in a suicide attempt, as the doses required for clinical treatment and potentially lethal overdose (see therapeutic index) are far wider in comparison.”…
…“They are not considered addictive and are somewhat preferable to the monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). The side effects of the TCAs usually come to prominence before the therapeutic benefits against depression and/or anxiety do, and for this reason, they may potentially be somewhat dangerous, as volition can be increased, possibly giving the patient a greater desire to attempt or commit suicide.”…
To go back to tianeptine specifically it’s basically unregulated here in the USA due to money.
Big Pharma doesn’t control the patent for it so it can be made cheaply and in bulk.
Combined with it being a TCA (aka ‘old version’) FDA and others have no reason to try and fight the corporate overlords to classify it as a legitimate drug (despite its use as such in multiple countries).
This of course put it in the grey market. It’s a drug that can make you feel good and you dont need (can’t get) a prescription for it. And it can be made cheaply and easily.
Of course people are gonna abuse the situation.
Classifying it as medication and requiring a prescription prevents the abuse.
Seriously you have to take waaay above the recommended dosage regularly to get addicted to Tia.
Most of the abuse/addiction came from people who were already abusing opioids and switched to Tia as a ‘better’ alternative.
Sprinkle in some dumb kids and shady manufacturers (again regulation would fix this) and boom you got your hot new craze to scare people with.
I’ve always known it as something that addicts use to try getting clean. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who regularly uses it recreationally.
Kratom? I use it recreationally, never been an opioid addict but I am an alcoholic and it’s a really nice way to relax at the end of a stressful day without drinking. It’s definitely addictive, but I find it so difficult to stomach enough doses frequently enough to really feel any withdrawal when I run out. I have heard from people that do manage to get fully addicted that withdrawal is 1000x worse than normal junk, but that’s anecdotal.