Ibogaine is a naturally occurring psychoactive compound derived from the roots of the Tabernanthe Iboga plant. Gabonese members of the Bwiti religion have used Iboga for centuries in spiritual and healing ceremonies. Thousands of people suffering from PTSD and opioid addiction have dramatically improved their lives with Ibogaine treatment.
Albert Schweitzer brought the plant to the attention of Westerners in the 1930s, but not until the 1960s did American amateur scientist Howard Lots use Ibogaine effectively to wean people from heroin addiction. Unlike artificial opioids like methadone, Ibogaine is non-addictive.
The Food and Drug Administration still lists Ibogaine as a Schedule 1 controlled substance despite its proven record in combating opioid addiction and recent research at Stanford University that found combining Ibogaine with magnesium protects against rare heart arrhythmias. It is, however, a legal medication in Jamaica, Mexico, Brazil, New Zealand, and South Africa.
Stanford researchers also found that a single treatment effectively reduced post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression by over 80% and improved functioning and well-being in veterans with traumatic brain disorders. Most recently, Ibogaine is proving valuable as a weapon against neuro-degenerative diseases.
A January 2024 article in Nature Medicine recounted phenomenal results of a study of U.S. Special Forces veterans who received Ibogaine therapy in Mexico for traumatic brain injuries and PTSD. After a single treatment, diagnostic imaging studies confirmed that Ibogaine had broad-based regenerative effects on their brains (including global restoration of white matter), enlargement of brain structures responsible for emotional regulation and executive functioning, and reversal of physiological brain age.
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The Stanford study followed numerous anecdotal stories from veterans and others who had undergone Ibogaine therapy. One of those who shared how the treatments saved his life, career, and marriage was Houston sailor Marcus Luttrell. Luttrell, whose brother Morgan Luttrell is now a U.S. Representative from Texas. Both Luttrells were befriended by then-Texas Governor Rick Perry in 2006, as Perry recently recounted to podcaster Joe Rogan.
Perry told Rogan’s huge audience that promoting Ibogaine is his primary mission. “My job, and our job,” said Perry, “is to be able to educate the people about this psychoactive plant medicine that is absolutely showing a stunning ability to bring people back to normalcy – to literally give them their lives back.”
Perry was joined on the Rogan podcast by W. Bryan Hubbard, Esq., executive director of the American Ibogaine Initiative at the REID Foundation. The foundation, which drew initial funding from the family of opioid victim Reid Elsass, provides hope and healing through music therapy, supports research into emerging treatments for addiction and mental health, – and promotes changes in laws and policies.
The REID Foundation is backing the Texas Ibogaine Initiative, which is seeking a $50 million allocation from state funds to establish a public-private partnership to fund Texas-based FDA-approved clinical trials along with a matching $50 million contribution from several family foundations and private industry.
With broad support, including from Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions (VETS), Texas state representative Cody Harris filed House Bill 3717 on March 4. This bill would authorize the sought-after funding for FDA-approved I ibogaine clinical trials in Texas.
The hope is that successful trials will expedite FDA approval for Ibogaine’s use in treating opioid disorders, concurrent substance use disorders, and other neurological or mental health conditions for which Ibogaine demonstrates efficacy.
Harris cited Texas as a national leader in innovation, adding that “too many of our heroes come home only to face an even tougher battle against substance abuse and mental health struggles. This legislation is about giving them hope.”
In support of the legislation, VETS has sponsored a legislative luncheon, a roundtable discussion, and a screening of the 2024 documentary “In Waves and War.” The film tells the story of highly decorated Navy SEAL Marcus Capone, who struggled with treatment-defiant PTSD, traumatic brain injuries, and severe depression after returning from Afghanistan.
Capone’s wife Amber discovered a groundbreaking therapy combining two powerful psychedelics unapproved for use in the U.S. that led to his remarkable recovery and their renewed commitment to help others gain easier access to this lifeline.
Among those cheering on the Texas Ibogaine Initiative is Boaz Wachtel, who with Lotsof created the first Ibogaine treatment protocol two decades ago. MPath Therapeutics founder Martin Shefsky recently recruited Wachtel as the company’s Chief Ibogaine Officer to help the Canada-based company create a legal Ibogaine supply chain for a production facility in Jamaica, where Ibogaine is allowed.
The mPath facility will process what will be the world’s first government-regulated, pharmaceutical grade Ibogaine meeting accurate dosage and purity levels to satisfy GMP standards. They hope to win acceptance for use in the United States, as well as to supply clinics and university-level studies worldwide – including for combating neurodegenerative diseases.
Shefsky and Wachtel, along with Rick Perry and the Texas Ibogaine Initiative, believe the FDA may be ready to take a new look at Ibogaine. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr., has expressed support for making psychedelics available “at least in therapeutic settings, and maybe more generally, but in ways that would discourage … corporate control and exploitation.”
Should legalizing Ibogaine win Kennedy’s official endorsement, other Make America Healthy Again enthusiasts, including Vivek Ramaswamy, Tulsi Gabbard, and Elon Musk, have all endorsed the use of psychedelics for therapeutic purposes. Colorado Governor Jared Polis, a Democrat, says Kennedy has an opportunity to influence and could provide a pathway for psychedelic companies to access the banking system.
Shefsky believes the momentum for legalizing Ibogaine therapy has shifted as people become more aware of the plant and its impacts. The motivating factor is enabling easier access so that more PTSD, opioid addiction, and substance abuse sufferers have a greater opportunity to return to normal lives, and more people with traumatic brain injuries and perhaps neurodegenerative diseases can regain their health.
And Texas, spurred by a crusading longtime former governor, has the upper hand in bringing Ibogaine to the United States.
Duggan Flanakin is a senior policy analyst at the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow who writes on a wide variety of public policy issues.
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