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.