The city council on Tuesday unanimously banned the sale or possession of tianeptine, commonly referred to as Za-Za or “gas station heroin,” in the city limits.
The vote followed a half-hour public hearing, during which six citizens spoke in favor of a ban. No one spoke against it. It was the second public hearing on the matter.
The council heard from a recovering Za-Za addict, the Mississippi Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association president and family members of Christopher Harper Montgomery, a 29-year-old who lost his life to a tianeptine overdose, his mother said.
After 30 minutes of listening to those in favor of the ban, no one came forward against it.
The ordinance has an emergency clause and goes into effect immediately.
City Attorney Jeff Turnage, however, said the city must give stores selling the substance a warning before arresting anyone.
“I think we need to employ a little common sense about it,” Turnage said. “The city needs to have some method to communicate with the convenience store owners or operators that are selling it. I think the police department would be a good place to do it — deliver flyers and say, ‘Next time if we come in here and you’re selling it, someone’s going to have to go to jail.’ If you find it on the street, I guess it’ll just be up to the court system.”
The substance is also making waves not just locally but statewide.
Currently, Mississippi House Bill 4 is seeking to classify tianeptine as a Schedule 1 drug. Schedule 1 substances are defined by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration as “drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.”
The bill passed the state House of Representatives on Feb. 7 by a margin of 100-11. On Feb. 14, the bill was referred to the state Senate Judiciary, Division B Committee, where it has been since.
Lowndes County supervisors are planning hearings to consider a countywide ban. Caledonia aldermen have already banned it.
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