The Case for Ibogaine – This is a great Introduction to Ibogaine as a treatment for drug addiction and withdrawal.
Ibogaine & Alcohol Addiction – Testimony From a Recent Patient at Rocky Point Recovery
Here are some quotes from a recent testimonial from a patient that has been struggling with alcohol addiction for 14 years. This testimonial highlights the true advantage of plant medicine vs. traditional methods of detoxification and rehabilitation.
“I would recommend ibogaine for those who, like myself, can’t stand to live the way they are living for a day longer and know that it is time for a change in their life and have accepted and embraced that change.
It is important that you pick someone and a facility where you feel safe and cared for and these two people do that for you. Between mentally preparing you for the process, making sure that you have all the preliminary medical work done, filling out the questionnaire, you talk to several therapists which was very helpful before the journey and you can pick who you prefer to work with after, on the other side, when you are reborn, like I was.
The most important thing is that you feel supported during your journey, you feel supported after your journey. There is zero judgment on anything which is super, super important because we are all very vulnerable at this stage. They also give you the right tools for after care.
Through and through, if I had to do it again, I would do it again with them. It is an intense journey…but I wouldn’t imagine myself ever doing it with anyone else. The setting is beautiful, the people are beautiful, they’re caring, they’re loving and they will be missed.
I tried naltrexone for alcohol addiction and when I tried that drug I realized that you can take it before you’re drinking and it minimizes the impact and “happy trigger” but it doesn’t do anything to stop the cravings, it doesn’t do anything to change the way that your brain is thinking. There is no drug out there that can solve for what creates addiction, and I believe the plant medicine can. What you do is reset your brain, you deal with your underlying trauma, you continue to deal with your underlying trauma through therapy and you realize the reason why you became an addict. Prescription medicines, at least none of the ones I found and believe me I looked, do that.
I am sure a lot of addicts feel this way; when you are an addict it is hard to get up in the morning, you can’t really seem to justify taking care of yourself, and after having the ibogaine something changes in that you value the way you are treating your body. You can see the beauty that your body can create on a deep level, within your brain. You can see the way that your body is functioning from literally inside and you want to protect it and covet it, and I didn’t before. I would recommend ibogaine for those who like myself can’t stand to live the way they are living for a day longer and know that it is time for a change in their life and have accepted and embraced that change.” ~A.K., New York
Psychedelic Times article on Health Risks of Ibogaine Treatment
The Health Risks of Ibogaine Treatment and What Every Ibogaine Provider Should Ask You For
There haven’t been many ibogaine-related deaths reported in the last five years, but the ones we do know about all seem to have some elusive factor. The 2014 death of a woman in a Costa Rican ibogaine clinic was actually from a heart attack, but the autopsy report was inconclusive as to whether there was ibogaine in her system when she died. Most reports blame the clinic, which was operating outside of Costa Rica’s regulated licensure program for ibogaine providers. They closed after the woman’s death, suggesting the clinic didn’t properly check the patient’s medical history for pre-existing cardiac conditions.
That same year, an Australian man named Brodie Smith died in his hotel room in Thailand. His girlfriend claimed he died after taking ibogaine and having trouble breathing, but the reports here are also convoluted—some accounts suggest he actually overdosed on methamphetamine (the addiction he was hoping to treat with ibogaine therapy) before ever taking ibogaine or still had methamphetamine in his system at the time of administering ibogaine.
The unknown factors in both cases highlight ibogaine’s biggest weakness—lack of regulation. Ibogaine is still illegal in the United States, so finding treatment generally requires leaving the country. Internationally, ibogaine providers run the gamut from professional clinics to hotel room pop-ups.
For Families of Addicts – You Didn’t Cause It
This wonderful article was written for the parents of addicts, it is being shared here with permission of the author, Stephanie Sears.
Here are a few things I’ve figured out along the way in dealing with addiction. These are things I wish someone had shared with me early on. Please know these are my thoughts and my experiences from the last six years of my son’s substance use disorder. These words are by no means a one size fits all approach. You have to do what works best for your family.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You didn’t cause it.
You can’t cure it.
You can’t control it.
You cannot fix them.
You didn’t do anything wrong. Do you hear me? YOU DIDN’T DO ANYTHING WRONG.
You can’t work their recovery for them. You can support them and make sure they know they are worthy and they are enough but they need to work their own recovery. You should work on yours.
Get yourself and your spouse some help. Therapy and Nar-Anon are good places to start.
Not trying to be a downer but relapse can happen many times and it doesn’t mean they can’t get clean and stay that way. They have to learn how to be and stay sober. Strive for forward movement not perfection. Try not to make them feel bad for setbacks. Life is full of setbacks.
Don’t take it personally when they/if they lie to you. Addicts will do and say anything for their next fix. It’s truly not personal.
Realize your loved one has a disease and it is recognized by the American medical association as such.
Although your loved one has a disease and that disease is not their fault, not fighting the disease is. They need to fight. It’s an insanely tough fight.
Don’t enable. Which means don’t do anything for your loved one that he/she can do for themselves. This is A LOT harder than it sounds. Having said this, loving your child and keeping them close is not enabling. The whole “rock bottom” approach IMO is archaic thinking. Rock bottom is a place where some go to get better but it’s also a place where some of our babies die. The opposite of addiction is connection. Stay connected if it’s safe for you to do so.
Don’t judge your loved one. I know it sounds crazy to say this when sometimes they are making bad decision after bad decision but it’s not your place to judge. It’s your place to love them through it.
Don’t say….. “You need to” or “If you would just” and instead say “How can I help?”
Don’t forget to tell your loved one you love them. Tell them daily. They need to know you still love them even though they are not perfect. This sounds easy but dealing with an addict in active addiction is nowhere near easy and some days you will feel like you couldn’t possibly utter the words I love you. But do it anyway. It’s important.
Remember, the opposite of addiction is connection.
Meet them where they are. What this means to me is to lower or completely get rid of expectations for how I think things should go and how things should be. When I expect things to go a certain way I’m almost always disappointed and my son feels that. It hurts him and that’s not something I ever want to do. Since I can’t control or change things I choose to meet my son where he is. This has made our relationship immensely better and has brought us even closer.
Although you can’t fix them, please don’t disregard the part a supportive family can play in an addict’s mindset and recovery. Family support matters.
Do not sit in shame. Addiction needs to be talked about and often. Do all you can to stop the stigma of addiction.
Addiction is a family disease.
Never forget, where there is life, there is hope.
Never, ever give up.
One day at a time. Don’t get ahead of yourself.
Be thankful for the good days.
Live in the moment.
If no one has told you they love you today, I do.
Fantastic Reddit Post after Ibogaine Flood Dose
Great Account of an Ibogaine Flood Dose for Addiction Treatment
The time had finally come for me to take my flood dose around 8:30am, I was ready. I wasn’t afraid to take the ibogaine anymore like I was the months and days leading up to it. I figured that I was already knocking on deaths door with the severity of my using. So if I were to die, at least I’d die trying to heal myself. So the nurses hooked me up to an EKG, IV and blood pressure machine for safety precautions. The doctor weighed out my pills according to my body weight before dispensing them he said, “This medicine has been used for hundreds of years by the Bwiti tribe as a right of passage. You should feel honored to have this opportunity” and I was. So by this point my withdrawals were starting to become unbearable, so I looked at him with zero hesitation and popped 7 pills of ibogaine. After 35-40 min I could feel tingling in my all my limbs, I also felt a burning in my chest. It actually felt really nice, almost a bit euphoric. As I lay there I could feel the medicine take over my entire body, as if an extraterrestrial had entered my bloodstream and was taking over. I could feel it doing it’s work on my brain repairing the virus known as addiction. The first part of my waking dream was very introspective. I realized that I loved myself. I didn’t want to harm myself ever again. I also gained some other other personal insights. The second part of the dream was about Gaia, the universe and how we are all connected. I never had been spiritual and considered myself an atheist but after seeing what the plant showed me I believe in “One”. I didn’t expect to come out of the experience becoming spiritually woke but I was. I went in to ibogaine treatment hoping to kick heroin and possibly cigarettes but to my surprise the medicine revealed all of my my addictions and interrupted every single last one of them. I’m one month post ibogaine and no longer addicted or craving. After my trip I didn’t smoke another cigarette and I immediately threw them in the trash. I also stopped drinking caffeine, eating processed foods, meat/animal products, alcohol, social media (FB/IG), sneaker-head addiction, I became a minimalist, I’m also more mindful of how I speak to people, what I watch on tv or YouTube, I make sure I limit my usage. This was all so unexpected especially becoming a vegan.
READ MORE @ https://www.reddit.com/r/Psychonaut/comments/cmhnj8/my_experience_with_ibogaine_as_an_addiction/
The Addict’s Family
One of the saddest components of addiction stories is the complete destruction of the family. Families of addicts must maintain a clear delineation between the disease that is addiction and the person behind the disease – the person who has basically disappeared. That person can return and the Ibogaine / Iboga experience is one of the best treatments to not only break the physical addiction cycle, but to cause some deep introspection at the soul level.
To a family member, it may seem that the addict is completely lost for good. They don’t care about any of the consequences of their behavior other than getting their fix. Stealing, cheating, lying, fighting, not caring one iota about one’s life don’t even register for an addict – their entire BEING has be consumed by the addiction. Even so, that person is still there at the soul level. They can return. They can care. They can love again. The damage can be repaired.
Ibogaine Treatment Testimonial from Rocky Point Recovery
RPR: What value did you get from your ibogaine treatment?
H. I feel a lot more energy, feeling younger, remembering how to care about myself
So feeling younger, what do you mean by that?
I feel psychologically and physically younger. For a while I was feeling old and worn out and beat up and now I don’t.
RPR: What did you expect and how did it differ from the actual treatment?
H. I noticed the changes occurred gradually after the trip. Right after the trip I felt like I was overwhelmed with the awe of it all and slowly I was able to incorporate those feelings into my daily existence. I felt better as the days progressed. I guess it is probably because I was tired for a while after it all. I was a little worried at first that it didn’t work but it did.
RPR: Give a Brief characterization of addiction before and how you feel after ibogaine?
H. Before I looked at hard drugs as if they were harmless as weed, not that they were harmless but I just didn’t have a…I don’t know how to say it. It all boils down to caring about myself. Before I felt like doing those drugs was kind of taking care of me, it was quite a wakeup call to remember how terrible it has been. It was impossible to maintain the addiction before. So recognizing that was nice because now I don’t feel like doing that any more.
RPR: Do you feel ibogaine has helped you physically, psychologically or both?
H. Yes, both! I definitely feel better.
RPR: How do you feel about your outlook for the future, where is your head at there?
H. It is bright. The future is my bitch! (Laughs). I think that is a pretty good way to sum up my potential.
I am the architect, the artist of my own universe. I realize I have some good skills and I need to use them. I want to focus on one or two things that I don’t mind doing often and make that work.
RPR: Is there anything else you wish you had known before your treatment so you could have been more prepared?
H. I don’t think there is anything else I could have prepared for. Key was being calm, trusting the process, trusting you guys, not being anxious. As far as danger is concerned seemed like I did really well with vitals and things. With what I was experiencing I thought my heart rate would have been all over the place but it was totally stable.
RPR: How was your experience with the medical staff?
H. The doctors and EMTs were so sweet. I was surprised by how into it the doctor was. There was no judgment, no questioning. He was all about it (the medicine). It was reassuring.
RPR: Brief summary of Coca and Romy, do you feel like we provided a caring environment, did we take good care of you?
H. Oh yeah! I felt spoiled as hell. I haven’t had that kind of treatment in a while, if ever!
RPR: What are your thoughts about the therapist and coach?
H. They are a good asset, for sure.
RPR: Do you think typical patient will be better served by therapy or coaching or both?
H. Hard to say what others will need as everyone is so different. I think this would be a good thing for people who have tried other things that haven’t worked because it is so unconventional. Way different. The inward looking aspect of it is a big one because a lot of people are so overwhelmed with the external and they lose sight of what is going on inside. I think when you address what’s inside the external becomes way easier.
RPR: So you are around 30 years old and have gone through the ups and downs of life. So how do you think this treatment would be for someone around 18 or 19?
H. Probably better because you can nip it in the bud. If I had done this years ago I think I would have been way better off. It would have been easier and I wouldn’t be as beat up. I think the less beaten down by life you are the easier it would be.
RPR: Did the facility meet your expectations? Give us a brief summary of Rocky Point Recovery.
H. It more than met my expectations. It was very comfortable. Super relaxing, it was like a vacation – full service! I really think it was perfect. I am not very critical but I can’t think of anything. It was great and it was super easy. Normally I would be anxious to get out and be free and do my own thing but I was totally content just chilling here, that’s a big deal.
RPR: Brief summary, how do you view the medicine? What does it have to teach people?
H. It teaches you how to find meaning in your own existence and self-worth
RPR: What advice do you have for anyone else who is taking this medicine?
H. Those first couple of days are really crucial days to keep thinking. Don’t be discouraged if people seem like they are falling back and kind of sad. They will more than likely figure out the reason why. I didn’t know why I was all depressed and bummed out and it is still kind of beyond me but something changed. I still can’t pinpoint it. It’s not even an idea, words can’t describe it. It’s like you just have to feel that love again. I used to be able to look at a puddle of mud and see the beauty in it but I lost it, now I have that back.
WHAT’S WRONG WITH OUR WORLD? IN-SHADOW PAINTS THE PICTURE!!!!
In-Shadow from Lubomir Arsov paints an incredible picture of the complete destruction and degradation of modern society. Why do we succumb to drug addiction and other self destructive behaviors? Why? Why? Why? Why? Because we are completely numb, disconnected, poisoned, programmed, and out of touch with spirit. This amazing short film and social commentary paints the picture. Absolutely stunning images!
IN-SHADOW – A MODERN ODYSSEY – ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Opioid drug crisis: could the whole US Congress be impeached?
this is a must read from the brilliant Jon Rappoport:
by Jon Rappoport
September 30, 2019
First, a little background. Then I’ll get to the Congress. And Obama.
Severe addiction, mental dislocation, death. Millions of people are facing the devastating effects of the pharma drugs called opioids, on the streets of America—illegally trafficked.
2 MILLION OPIOID ADDICTS IN THE US.
300,000 DEATHS SINCE THE YEAR 2000 IN THE US.
Those are the official estimates, as of about 2 years ago. The numbers are rising.
We need to understand that people with deep physical pain should be able to obtain sufficient painkillers from doctors. Shortages being experienced are coming from drug over-enforcement in the wrong direction.
The situation is made more complex by the fact that traditional morphine, plus another few synthetic opioids, would be sufficient to handle all patients’ needs. BUT, when I started counting the pharmaceutical opioids in the marketplace, I stopped at 50. This is insane. There is absolutely no need for all these derivatives. And they make regulation and enforcement far more difficult. But the drug companies don’t care. They pursue profit.
Where are all the opioids that are maiming and killing people coming from? Who is launching these drugs on to the streets of nations?
Three main criminal sources of US opioids: pharmaceutical companies, like Purdue, who’ve filled gargantuan orders they KNOW are going to traffickers; Chinese labs; and Mexican processors and smugglers.
READ MORE @ https://blog.nomorefakenews.com/2019/09/30/opioid-drug-crisis-could-the-whole-us-congress-be-impeached/
How A Powerful Psychedelic From Africa is Treating Opioid Addiction…& the U.S. Doesn’t Care
Fantastic article from Elizabeth Bast & Lorna Liana
The President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis recently called for a state of emergency in dealing with the opioid epidemic, which now kills more than 100 Americans daily. Addiction to opioid painkillers has been fueling the dramatic rise in heroin abuse and overdose in the United States. People who abuse or who are dependent on prescription painkillers were found to be 40 times more likely to abuse heroin.
Heroin is a low-cost alternative for people addicted to opioid painkillers whose prescriptions have run out. To make matters worse, dealers are cutting fentanyl – a cheap, synthetic opioid that can be 100 times stronger than morphine – into everything from cocaine, to MDMA, to heroin, which dramatically increases risk of drug overdose. In Vancouver, heroin is believed to have been all but replaced with fentanyl.
The opioid commission made the following recommendations:
- Expanding capacity for drug treatment under Medicaid
- Increasing the use of medication-assisted treatments, like buprenorphine and suboxone, for opioid disorders
- Encouraging the development of non-opioid pain relievers
- Mandating that every local law enforcement officer in the nation carry naloxone, the drug that rapidly reverses opiate overdose
- Improving the detection of fentanyl at the border
- Improving training on painkiller prescribing for doctors
Sadly, measures to address addiction treatment are woefully inadequate. Even when an overdose doesn’t kill, heroin addiction often leaves the user with an abysmal quality of life.
READ MORE @ https://entheonation.com/blog/iboga-ibogaine-opioid-addiction/
My Experience With Ibogaine as the Addiction Interrupter
This is an excellent post from a Reddit forum on the Ibogaine treatment journey.
A little back story..
I’m 4 weeks post ibogaine treatment for a severe 7 year opiate addiction. I had a back surgery, chest surgery and 4 knee surgeries which kept me in the pain pill, maintenance meds, heroin hell cycle, for way too long. I had two stays in conventional rehab in the states, 6 years of addiction therapy with a specialist, maintenance meds (suboxone) 4mg 4 times a day to treat “chronic pain” totaling 16 mg a day. I’ve also seen psychiatrists claiming that I had mental health issues but no firm diagnosis because of my substance use disorder but they’d prescribe SSRIs anyways. I’ve also had a poly substance abuse disorder since I was 14 so over two decades of this awful virus. I call it a virus and not a disease because once I had ibogaine I realized that it was all a choice. Ibogaine taught me that I’m the solution to my problems, no matter how difficult they may seem.
The Flood dose and days leading up to it…..
READ MORE @ https://www.reddit.com/r/Ibogaine/comments/cmhith/my_experience_with_ibogaine_as_the_addiction/
Athiest Meets God Face to Face During Ibogaine Treatment
From a Reddit post: “When I finally got comfortable in my bed. It was at this point that I finally went from atheist to meeting god face to face. Really no other way to describe it.”
https://www.reddit.com/r/Psychonaut/comments/bqcjx5/ibogaine_hcl_4x_heroic_flood_dose/
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IBOGAINE TREATMENT
Ibogaine is a psychoactive compound found in several different plants, most commonly the Tabernathe iboga found in parts of Africa. It has been used traditionally by people in certain regions of West Africa for thousands of years, where it is used for its medicinal and psychoactive properties.
In the modern world, ibogaine is becoming popular as an effective treatment of addiction and withdrawal symptoms. It has been used to help people addicted to substances such as opioids, cocaine, amphetamines and alcohol.
This is how one heroin addict described his treatment with ibogaine:
“As it starts to take effect I feel an intense wave of energy emanating from the centre of my chest that permeates my entire body. This euphoric state also brings me instantaneous relief from the discomfort I was feeling after going without heroin for almost 24 hours.
READ MORE @ https://thethirdwave.co/ibogaine-treatment/
African plant outlawed in US may offer treatment for addicts
By Chris Kilham, | Fox News
When news surfaced that Scott Disick, the father of Kourtney Kardashian’s children, was in Costa Rica reportedly undergoing treatment for his hard-partying ways, iboga, an African plant used to treat addictions, was thrown into the spotlight. It’s not the first time iboga has made headlines in relation to treating addicted stars, as it’s rumored Charlie Sheen’s ex, Brooke Mueller, as well as countless others who lack fame have tried it. As with magic mushrooms, peyote cactus and South America’s ayahuasca, iboga — which derives originally from Congo and Gabon — could offer a way to treat addiction.
Iboga treatment centers operate outside of the conventional mainstream, and outside of the U.S., where both iboga and its derivative ibogaine are illegal to possess or use without a license. In most other countries around the world, iboga remains legal. Thus the vanguard observational work that is part of the activity of iboga addiction centers is not centered in the U.S., where new and more effective addiction treatments are badly needed to aid a growing population of addicts, specifically those on opiates.
READ MORE @ https://www.foxnews.com/health/african-plant-outlawed-in-us-may-offer-treatment-for-addicts
New Studies Confirm the Effectiveness of Ibogaine in Stopping Opioid Addiction
Dylan Charles, Editor
Waking Times
The opioid crisis in America has reached epidemic levels and overdose deaths continue to rise. While the destructive effects of heroin and pharmaceutical opioids ravage communities and destroy families, the federal government is considering harsh new mandatory sentences for opioid crimes, demonstrating a heart-breaking disconnect from reality when it comes to disrupting dependence on these insanely addictive and deadly drugs.
“In 2015, the most recent year tracked by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), more that 52,000 people in the U.S. died from drug overdoses, or about 144 each day, with the majority of those deaths opioid-related. Nationwide, fatal opioid overdoses increased 652 percent from 2000 to 2015, according to CDC statistics, and every indication is that the problem has grown worse in 2016.” [Source]
Opioids in the U.S. are far more deadly than terrorism and even firearms, yet because they fall into the uncomfortable category of addiction and are primarily the result of the legal pharmaceutical industry, the problem is largely ignored by mainstream media, and the government authorized solutions don’t help.
READ MORE @ https://www.wakingtimes.com/2017/06/08/new-studies-confirm-effectiveness-ibogaine-stopping-opioid-addiction/
As Canada Marijuana Laws Look Up, Drug Policy Surrounding Ibogaine Under Fire
Psychedelics have made recent news in Canada, as a medication containing ibogaine receives clinical criticism, and recently elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau advocates for recreational marijuana law reform. Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
It’s both an exciting and challenging time for advocates of therapeutic psychedelic plants in Canada. Known as one of the more progressive countries in the world when it comes to drug policy, Canada has allowed medical marijuana use for over a decade and is famously lax in tolerating recreational use. Beyond that, Canada is one of the few Western countries that hasn’t specifically outlawed the use of the psychedelic ibogaine. As a result, many ibogaine clinics have appeared across Canada to treat serious addictions to substances like heroin and cocaine. But in the last few months, two major events have transpired that are putting Canadian ibogaine providers on their toes and giving Canadian cannabis users more to look forward to.
7 Ways to Get Rid of Drugs Once and For All (IBOGA MENTIONED)
Drug addiction is a chronic disease that addicts, unfortunately, have one of the hardest times escaping. With the help of addiction centers and treatment facilities, however, it’s possible. The battle is long, and the road to staying sober is even longer and filled with countless obstacles. Drug addiction often refers to the abuse of heroin, alcohol, cocaine, tobacco and an assortment of medical pills. With the help of a guide, here are several ways to remove drugs from your life for good.
1. Meditation
Meditation has been scientifically proven to have reduce psychological triggers associated with substance abuse. It also enhances our lives by making us more aware of the beauty surrounding us. It promotes mindfulness and the awareness of our thoughts and emotions, helping us manage our addictions once and for all.
READ MORE @ https://baltimorepostexaminer.com/7-ways-to-get-rid-of-drugs-once-and-for-all/2018/10/23
Ibogaine Patient Goes from Atheist to Meeting God Face to Face
From a Reddit post: “When I finally got comfortable in my bed. It was at this point that I finally went from atheist to meeting god face to face. Really no other way to describe it.”
https://www.reddit.com/r/Psychonaut/comments/bqcjx5/ibogaine_hcl_4x_heroic_flood_dose/
Dr. Mercola Lambasts Big Pharma and Government on Opioid Addiction
By Dr. Mercola
Since 1999, the rate of drug overdose deaths has tripled in the U.S., rising to 63,600 deaths in 2016. This represents a 21 percent increase in deaths from 2015 alone, according to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) report.1 The majority of the overdose deaths — 66 percent — involved opioids, a class of drugs so addictive and dangerous that the opioid epidemic was declared a public health emergency in 2017.
To put this in perspective, drug overdose deaths from opioids totaled 42,249 in 2016, which is over 1,000 more deaths than were caused by breast cancer that same year.2 To say it again, more Americans are now dying from overdosing on opioids than from breast cancer. Such deaths have also surpassed deaths from AIDs during the peak of its epidemic.
Robert Anderson, chief of the mortality statistics branch at the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), told the Daily Journal, “We’ve gone well beyond [the AIDS epidemic] now … It’s hard to take in.”3 The death rates for 2017 appear to be rising still, with provisional data already at an estimate of more than 66,000 overdose deaths. “The fact that the data is incomplete and they represent an increase is concerning,” Anderson told CNN.4
Can Plant Medicine From Africa End the Opioid Epidemic?
An End to the Opioid Epidemic? New Study Suggests Ibogaine Treatment Could Be a Game Changer
Posted by Psychedelic Times Staff | Dec 25, 2017 | Addiction, Articles, Drug Policy, Harm Reduction, Iboga, Psychedelic Research, Psychedelic Therapy | 0
Ibogaine is a naturally-occurring psychoactive compound frequently extracted from the root bark of Tabernanthe iboga, the plant source of ibogaine, which has its origins in the Bwiti cult of Gabon, a Central African religious group (1). In Gabon, the government has declared iboga as “a national treasure,” but in the U.S., ibogaine is listed as a Schedule I drug, meaning it is considered to have high abuse potential and no medical value. In other countries such as New Zealand, Mexico, the Bahamas, Canada, Australia, Spain, Brazil, Costa Rica, and South Africa, ibogaine treatment is currently used in clinical and medical contexts for treating substance use disorders (SUD). In these contexts, the ibogaine is often derived via semi-synthesis from a more widely available alternative African plant called Voacanga africana.
How ibogaine works in treating addiction is not yet fully understood. It is known to possess multiple mechanisms of action that can simultaneously alleviate the acute symptoms of opioid withdrawal, reduce opioid use and cravings for extended periods or permanently, engender novel insights about the psychological origins of one’s addiction, and improve mood. Human anecdotal reports and case studies have also indicated that ibogaine can help reduce cravings to a variety of other highly addictive drugs such as cocaine, amphetamines, and alcohol (2). Additionally, iboga has a host of medical benefits including antifungal and anti-parasitic properties, and is being investigated as a treatment for Parkinson’s disease due to its ability to regenerate dopamine cells in the brain.
READ MORE at https://psychedelictimes.com/opioid-epidemic-ibogaine-treatment-game-changer/