(File Photo of the Seal of the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) The Pennsylvania state House passed a bill yesterday in Harrisburg that would make “gas station heroin” illegal in the Commonwealth. Officials say that it is a dangerous and highly addictive substance which is popping up across the country. Tianeptine is a highly addictive opioid-like drug not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA said that the substance has been linked to hundreds of deaths and overdoses. Representative Charity Grimm Krupa is co-sponsoring House Bill 377, which would prohibit the delivery, manufacture or possession of the drug with intent to manufacture or deliver. This bill would make that crime a felony with up to five years in prison or a fine of up to $15,000 and the legislation now heads to the state Senate.