Ibogaine treatment for opioid addiction. In November, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that drug overdose deaths reached an all-time high in 2017, killing over 70,000 Americans. That figure includes almost 15,000 deaths from heroin and 28,000 from fentanyl (synthetic opioids) and related drugs (a 45 percent increase over the previous year). Natural and semisynthetic opioids, like oxycodone and hydrocodone, accounted for nearly 15,000 deaths. The opioid crisis was officially declared a national public health emergency in October 2017, but even with all hands on deck, conventional treatment options are limited and often unsuccessful. Most users relapse within a year of treatment. And complicating matters even more: The treatment that might have the highest potential for success is currently illegal in the US.
Ibogaine is a psychedelic compound derived from the bark of a shrub native to western central Africa. It seems to act as an addiction disruptor, blocking the acute symptoms of opioid withdrawal and giving patients a window of opportunity to rebuild a healthier life. (We first learned about ibogaine from a 2016 interview with researcher Dr. Deborah Mash.) Although current research suggests that ibogaine treatment for opioid addiction and withdrawal has a success rate up to 90 percent, ibogaine is listed as a Schedule I drug in the US, meaning it is considered illicit and has no formally accepted medical value. However, because it is unregulated in most other countries, people seeking treatment with ibogaine can find clinics across borders—often in Canada or Mexico.
Anthropologist Thomas Kingsley Brown, PhD, is a researcher with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), a nonprofit psychedelic research and education group. Brown has been visiting these clinics since 2009, when he started interviewing patients who had undergone ibogaine treatment for opioid addiction. While other scientists focused on the numbers (success rates, number of opioid-free days), Brown recorded patient experiences: their addiction stories, their ibogaine trip, and their lives after treatment. These interviews bring to life not only the pain and despair of opioid addiction but also accounts of hope and second chances.