The Next Tianeptine: What Chemical Will Replace It in Gas Stations?

Tianeptine didn’t appear in gas stations by accident. It was the inevitable outcome of a regulatory blind spot: a loophole big enough for an entire shadow drug market to march through, disguised as “herbal supplements,” “focus pills,” and “mood boosters.”

Now that states are cracking down — and federal hemp law is moving to shut down converted cannabinoids — the question is not:

“Will something replace tianeptine?”
It is:

“What will replace it first?”

Gas-station drug manufacturers have never waited for science, ethics, or the law. They move like water: finding the next crack, the next ingredient, the next “herbal” molecule they can weaponize into a legal-adjacent high.

Below is the MAHA forecast of what is coming next — and what parents must be ready for.

1. Akuamma (Picralima nitida)

The next kratom, but stronger per milligram.

Akuamma seeds contain several alkaloids with opioid-like properties, including akuammine, akuammidine, and pseudo-akuammigine. At high doses, they bind to opioid receptors — the same receptors responsible for sedation, analgesia, compulsive redosing, and respiratory depression.

Kratom suppliers already know this. Many are quietly adding akuamma powder into products labeled “relaxation blend,” “calm stack,” or “herbal chill.”

Akuamma will be marketed as a “natural alternative,” an “African pain-relief seed,” or an “herbal anxiety aid.” Parents will have no idea what it is.

But make no mistake: this is a morphine-pathway plant. Expect gummies, extracts, and “shots” next.

2. Picamilon (Pikamilon / Pikatropin)

The banned Russian anti-anxiety drug that never really left.

Picamilon is a synthetic compound, created by the USSR, that combines niacin (B3) with GABA. It crosses the blood-brain barrier — something normal GABA cannot do — and acts like a pharmaceutical anxiolytic.

The FDA has already declared picamilon not a lawful dietary ingredient. Several states have seized it. But gas-station manufacturers still use it under euphemisms such as “pikatropin,” “neurocalm complex,” or “GABA accelerator.”

Picamilon produces calming effects, mood drops, depressive rebound, and dependence patterns. Expect it to surge when tianeptine collapses because it is cheap, easy to disguise, and extremely potent per milligram.

3. Phenyl-GABA Derivatives

The next phenibut, with new names to avoid detection.

Phenibut was the warning shot — a so-called “supplement” that behaves like a pharmaceutical tranquilizer. Its successors are already here:

• β-phenyl-GABA
• Phenibut HCL analogs
• Modified GABA esters
• “GABA Max” mixtures

Manufactured overseas, imported in bulk, and sold as “sleep gummies,” “calm chews,” “pre-workout focus,” or “stress support shots,” these chemicals can produce blackout sedation, memory disruption, severe withdrawal, panic episodes, and respiratory depression when combined with alcohol or other depressants.

Phenibut almost broke the supplement market. Its derivatives will be worse.

4. Novel Alkaloids from Obscure Plants

Gas-station pharmacology never sleeps.

Companies are now mining lesser-known plants for any alkaloid with opioid activity, dopaminergic effects, anxiolysis, or stimulant properties. Expect the next wave to come from plants like:

• Sceletium tortuosum (kanna) — mesembrine alkaloids affecting serotonin and mood
• Corydalis yanhusuo — tetrahydropalmatine (THP), which acts on dopamine and has sedative properties
• Wild lettuce (Lactuca virosa) — lactucopicrin, marketed as “lettuce opium”
• Blue lotus and related water lilies — aporphine alkaloids with dopaminergic effects
• Concentrated extracts of rhodiola, passionflower, and other botanicals engineered for CNS action

Most of these compounds interact with the central nervous system but have never been subjected to robust human safety trials. Gas-station market logic remains: if it binds to a receptor, someone will try to sell it.

5. “Plant Morphinics” — The Synthetic-Natural Hybrid Frontier

Not quite synthetic, not quite herbal — perfectly engineered for loopholes.

This is the most dangerous frontier. “Plant morphinics” are substances that may be found in trace amounts in plants, but are isolated, modified chemically, and then re-blended into “herbal” products. They will be marketed as “botanical opioids,” “plant-based calm,” or “natural euphoria support.”

Expect:

• Semi-synthetic mitragynine analogs
• Modified akuamma alkaloids
• Kratom-adjacent compounds without the kratom label
• THP and aporphine derivatives masquerading as “relaxation” extracts
• GABA esters and prodrugs labeled as “advanced sleep support”

These compounds mimic opioid or benzodiazepine effects while slipping through outdated supplement definitions. This is exactly how the tianeptine crisis began — by exploiting a gray zone between “drug” and “dietary ingredient.”

The Gas-Station Drug Market Will Not Disappear — It Will Mutate

Every time a state bans one substance, the market replaces it with something more obscure, more potent, and harder to detect.

Patterns MAHA has already documented:

• After phenibut crackdowns → picamilon and GABA analogs appeared
• After kratom regulation → akuamma and kanna blends surged
• After delta-8 bans → THCP and “hemp-free highs” emerged
• After tianeptine bans → “herbal relaxers” with unknown alkaloids surfaced

The industry is built on shape-shifting. What comes next will be less studied, less regulated, and more harmful.

Signs a New Gas-Station Drug Is on the Market

Parents should watch for products labeled as:

• “relaxation shot”
• “herbal euphoria”
• “calm elixir”
• “GABA blend”
• “botanical alkaloids”
• “nootropic chill”
• Any label that refuses to clearly name and quantify the active ingredient

If a product promises analgesia, anxiety relief, pain relief, mood elevation, or “opioid-like calm,” it is not a supplement. It is a drug being misrepresented as something else.

Final Word from MAHA

The next tianeptine is already out there. It has a new name, a fresh label, and an “herbal” disguise. It will appear in convenience stores long before regulators know what it is — and teens will encounter it before parents have even heard the word.

The only defense is awareness and pressure.

MAHA will continue tracking the next wave of plant-based, semi-synthetic, and lab-modified psychoactives poised to hit American shelves. But laws and evidence do nothing unless communities act on them.