The History of Ibogaine
Information
Iboga is a psychoactive plant native to Gabon, Cameroon, and the Congo Basin. It has been used for an unknown span of time, by indigenous communities, originally the nomadic Babongo tribespeople, then introduced to the agricultural neighbouring tribes, notably the Fang and Mitsogo peoples of Gabon. These ceremonies often involve consuming iboga root bark for healing, and initiation rites. The plant is revered as a powerful tool for communicating with ancestors and gaining spiritual insight.
French explorers and colonialists in the 19th century documented iboga’s use, and in 1901, scientists isolated ibogaine, the active alkaloid responsible for its psychoactive effects.
The Staten Island Project & Early Western Interest
Ibogaine first gained Western medical attention in the 1960s, when Howard Lotsof, accidentally discovered its potential as an addiction interrupter. Lotsof found that a single dose of ibogaine eliminated withdrawal symptoms and cravings for opioids. He began advocating for research into ibogaine as a treatment for addiction. Howard and his wife Norma Lotsof became the first underground treatment providers offering the medicine within their community and far beyond.
In the United States in the 1980s, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) initiated research into ibogaine’s effects, culminating in the Staten Island Project at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. However, due to a combination of safety concerns, lack of financial backing, and resistance from the pharmaceutical industry, ibogaine research in the U.S. stalled. Despite promising findings, it was classified as a Schedule I drug in the United States (1970), halting legal medical use.
Underground Treatments & Global Expansion (1990s–)
With ibogaine banned in the U.S., underground ibogaine clinics began emerging worldwide, particularly in Mexico, Canada and the Netherlands. These clinics catered to people seeking treatment mainly for opioid and cocaine addiction. Amongst many successful treatments, a few unsafe treatments carried out by inexperienced people with inadequate training led to adverse events and deaths and consequentially Ibogaine gained a bit of a fearful reputation. To this day Ibogaine retains something of its image as the bad boy of plant medicines.
Modern Research & Contemporary Treatment Options
Today, Ibogaine research is experiencing a resurgence, with increasing interest from biotech companies, neuroscientists, and addiction specialists. In recent years there has been a surge in interest from capitalist ventures, which see opportunity in investing in novel health treatments, including psychedelic compounds. This is being lauded as a psychedelic renaissance, with many people flocking to be involved in this exotic scene. Granted, there is much research underway, but I believe that we should be careful to not celebrate these developments too soon. With funding coming from private interests, it’s likely that the medicalisation of psychedelics will generate many new problems as it solves others.
Having worked in clinical research I’ve been disturbed by the way in which care for the patients undergoing very high doses of powerful psychedelic compounds, is sometimes deemphasised for practical and financial reasons. Patients would be given minimal pre-care and very little post care integration sessions. In research settings it is quite common for the providers to have never personally touched any psychedelic drugs, hence they can’t comprehend the treatment they administer or the extent of the suffering experienced by research subjects.