The Return Trip from Bountiful: Ibogaine

I love your column. You do more debunking than a drill sergeant at reveille. I’m wondering if you can shed some light on a substance called Ibogaine. Years ago, a hippy friend turned me on to some, citing “its like totally trippin” properties. And yes, it certainly provided some psychedelic effects. Shortly thereafter I inexplicably ended my years-long love affair with marijuana. Lately, I’m hearing all sorts of claims that Ibogaine cures drug addiction. That would be ironic, now wouldn’t it?
- John

I agree. It would be ironic to find that an illegal psychoactive drug can cure addiction to other illegal psychoactive drugs. And it would be hyperbolic to suggest it is the greatest breakthrough in medical science since Botox. Furthermore, it would also be allegorical should I describe the full journey this plant extract has taken in its own recovery from a volatile and destructive reputation. Lest I continue with more clever uses of the parts of speech, I’ll move directly into one of my slightly sarcastic answers (that, many would say, is an understatement).

Ibogaine is a surprisingly non-addictive substance made from the bark of a shrub-like plant native to the West Africa states of Gabon and Cameroon. Its discovery as a potential treatment for addiction to opiates, alcohol and even tobacco, came not from a drug company or researcher, but from a junkie during the psychedelic ‘60’s on the streets of New York. Howard Lotsof, a then heroin addict, scored enough of this obscure drug to provide it to many of his friends, seven of whom were also addicts. Following use of the stuff, he and five of the seven suddenly lost their desire for drugs, and experienced very few withdrawal symptoms – teaching his dealer an important lesson in long-term business planning. Twenty years later and still clean, Lotsof had isolated the responsible alkaloid and applied for a patent.

In contrast, the people of the African Bwiti tribe consider the source of Ibogaine as a sacred ceremonial plant and use it only during religious initiation. Their tradition dictates once-in-a-lifetime use as a method of “rebirth,” which seems appropriate to its new Western exploitation. What follows after ingestion is a 24 to 36-hour hallucination – often a harrowing waking dream – that has been described by one successful former addict as “dying and going to hell one-thousand times.” Add the constant nausea and vomiting, and I doubt Rush Limbaugh will be risking his settlement of drug charges to score any Ibogaine (though his daily delusions may have already proved me wrong).

The potential for this treatment is recognized, but Ibogaine is still listed in the United States as an illegal Schedule I Controlled Substance (alongside heroin, LSD and marijuana) and has been similarly banned in several European countries. Despite this, some researchers have doggedly battled the bureaucracy to evaluate what seems like Pete Doherty’s last chance. Ibogaine appears to address all three major needs of the addicted: a massive reduction in withdrawal symptoms, a decreased desire for the addicting substance lasting weeks or months, and hallucination-inspired insight into the issues leading to the addiction. Physiologically, Ibogaine affects multiple brain pathways, but at least one breakdown product apparently blocks certain receptors for a nerve growth factor involved in addictive desire in such a way that they stay locked up for long periods.

The National Institutes of Health began formal research in the early 1990’s but in spite of very encouraging findings, funding was pulled a few years later. A fairly uncommon side effect, a slowed heart rate (bradycardia), may have been responsible for up to eight deaths. To date, none of these incidents have occurred in medical or treatment settings – but the possibility was enough to stop the money for large studies. Still, dozens of papers demonstrate that addicted animals will slow or stop self-administration of morphine, heroin, cocaine or alcohol after treatment with Ibogaine or its related compounds (and begin using again after a single hour of Rush Limbaugh).

This is not a magic bullet, however; the full complement of drug rehabilitation (case management, psychiatry, group therapy) is still necessary. To that end, clinics using Ibogaine as an initial component are running in Canada, Mexico and other parts of the world. The best-known center is on the island of St. Kitts, called Healing Visions. Run by a well-respected and widely published researcher, Dr. Deborah Mash, her clinic reports quite good results thus far compared to conventional detoxification programs. It typically takes between four to seven trips through traditional rehab before lasting sobriety, making most programs about as effective as Limbaugh’s college education. And that, Dittoheads, is a metaphor he should remember.


Dr. Ed Rabin is a chiropractor practicing at Life Chiropractic Center in Boise. Send mislabeled Viagra and health-related questions to theantidote@edrabin.com (on the Web at www.edrabin.com).