Ibogaine

🧠 Depression

🧪 Addiction

1. 📄 Title: Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder with Ibogaine: Detoxification and Drug Use Outcomes

👥 Authors: Thomas Kingsley Brown, Kenneth Alper (2018)

🔗 Link: Read full study on PubMed

🧠 Summary: This observational study involved 30 adults (25 M, 5 F) with DSM-IV opioid dependence (heroin and/or oxycodone). Participants received a mean dose of 1,540 mg ibogaine HCl during detox. Outcomes were tracked via the Subjective Opioid Withdrawal Scale (SOWS) and Addiction Severity Index Composite (ASIC) scores at baseline, 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months.

• Withdrawal symptoms (SOWS) dropped significantly—from 31.0 → 14.0 (t = 7.07, p < .001) at around 3 days post-treatment 

• At 1-month follow-up, 50% reported no opioid use in the previous 30 days

• Improvements continued over 12 months: Drug Use, Legal, and Family/Social ASIC subscales stayed significantly better than baseline (p < .001)

• The 1-month effect size was strongest, with later follow-ups remaining significantly improved but slightly reduced—noninferiority to 1-month outcomes was demonstrated 

✅ Conclusion: Ibogaine-assisted detox was associated with rapid and lasting reductions in withdrawal symptoms and opioid use, with half of participants reporting abstinence at 1 month and clinically meaningful improvements lasting up to 12 months. These results support ibogaine's potential as a valuable prototype in developing new addiction pharmacotherapies.

📚 Citation: Brown TK, Alper K. Treatment of opioid use disorder with ibogaine: Detoxification and drug use outcomes. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse. 2018;44(1):24–36. 

2. 📄 Title: Ibogaine as a Treatment for Substance Misuse: Potential Benefits and Practical Dangers
   👥 Author: John Martin Corkery
   🔗 Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0079612318300979?via%3Dihub
   🔥 Summary: This 2018 review in Progress in Brain Research examines the potential of ibogaine in treating various forms of substance misuse, including opioid, stimulant, and alcohol dependence. Drawing from animal models, clinical reports, and observational data, the review evaluates ibogaine’s unique mechanism and complex safety profile.

• Efficacy: Ibogaine may interrupt substance dependence by reducing cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Human case studies and open-label reports show rapid, sometimes lasting, reductions in use across opioids, cocaine, and alcohol.

• Mechanisms: Ibogaine acts on multiple neurotransmitter systems—NMDA, opioid, serotonergic, and dopaminergic—believed to underlie its anti-addictive and hallucinogenic properties.

• Safety: The review emphasizes serious risks including cardiotoxicity, QT prolongation, ataxia, and death, often associated with preexisting health conditions or improper settings.

• Regulation and Use: Despite Schedule I status in the U.S., ibogaine is used in alternative clinical settings globally, with variable screening and medical oversight.

✅  Conclusion: Ibogaine shows promising anti-addictive effects but presents substantial medical risks. Corkery advocates for carefully controlled clinical research, stringent patient screening, and standardized protocols before broader therapeutic adoption.

📚 Citation: Corkery JM. Ibogaine as a treatment for substance misuse: Potential benefits and practical dangers. Progress in Brain Research. 2018;242:217–259. 

💥 Trauma / PTSD

1. 🎖️ 📄 Title: The VA Prescribed a Cocktail of Drugs to Veterans. Many Died by Suicide, Wall Street Journal 2024
   👥 Author: Michael M. Phillips
   🔗 Link: Read Full Article on WSJ

🧠 Summary: This in-depth Wall Street Journal investigation reveals the VA’s long-standing practice of prescribing complex and often dangerous psychiatric drug combinations to veterans suffering from PTSD, chronic pain, depression, and anxiety. Many veterans were placed on multiple high-risk medications simultaneously, including opioids, benzodiazepines, antipsychotics, and sedatives—despite internal warnings and guidelines discouraging such polypharmacy. The article details tragic outcomes including suicide and functional decline. Importantly, it highlights a growing interest among veterans in psychedelic therapies, particularly ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT, as potential life-saving alternatives to these failed pharmaceutical regimens.

📊 Results:  The article documents how veterans subjected to heavy medication cocktails often experienced emotional numbing, mental deterioration, and increased suicidal ideation. Several high-profile deaths are chronicled. In parallel, it notes a surge in veteran-led interest in psychedelic-assisted therapies, particularly ibogaine—cited for its potential to interrupt addiction—and 5-MeO-DMT, noted for its rapid-acting and intense therapeutic effects. Though these substances remain largely inaccessible through the VA, some veterans are independently seeking out treatments abroad or through underground networks, reporting significant psychological breakthroughs.

✅ Conclusion: The VA’s medication-heavy approach to mental health has contributed to a preventable suicide crisis among veterans. There is an urgent need to re-evaluate treatment models and explore promising alternatives like ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT, especially given their growing support within the veteran community. These compounds may offer a radical shift away from polypharmacy toward more durable, transformative healing—if regulatory and institutional barriers can be addressed.

2. 🎖️ 📄 Title: Magnesium–Ibogaine Therapy in Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injuries

👥 Authors: Kirsten N. Cherian, Jackob N. Keynan, Lauren Anker, Afik Faerman, Randi E. Brown, Ahmed Shamma, Or Keynan, John P. Coetzee, Jean‑Marie Batail, Angela Phillips, John Inzunza, Trevor Millar, Jonathan Dickinson, C.E. Rolle, Jennifer Keller, Maheen Adamson, Ian H. Kratter, Nolan R. Williams (2024)

🔗 Link: Read Full Study on PubMed

🧠 Summary: A prospective observational study (MISTIC protocol) examined 30 male Special Operations veterans with mild TBI and repetitive blast/combat exposure. Participants received oral ibogaine dosed at ~2–3 mg/kg, along with IV magnesium (to mitigate cardiac risk), at a licensed clinic in Mexico.
Key findings at 1-month follow-up:

• Functional disability (WHO-DAS) dropped significantly—from an average score of 30.2 → 5.1 (from moderate impairment to normal function).

• Symptom reductions were dramatic: PTSD (–88%), depression (–87%), and anxiety (–81%) from baseline.

• Cognitive performance (processing speed, executive tasks, memory) improved on standard neuropsych tests.

• Effect sizes were large (Cohen’s d > 2), with no serious adverse events or unexpected safety issues.

• Benefits persisted from immediate post-treatment through the 1-month mark in psychiatric symptoms and disability. 

✅ Conclusion: A single dose of magnesium-enhanced ibogaine produced substantial, rapid, and sustained improvements in disability, mental health symptoms, and cognition in Special Operations veterans with TBI. The treatment showed strong early efficacy and excellent short-term safety. These promising results make a compelling case for randomized controlled trials.

📚 Citation: Cherian KN, Keynan JN, Anker L, Faerman A, Brown RE, Shamma A, Keynan O, Coetzee JP, Batail J-M, Phillips A, Inzunza J, Millar T, Dickinson J, Rolle CE, Keller J, Adamson M, Kratter IH, Williams NR. Magnesium–ibogaine therapy in veterans with traumatic brain injuries. Nature Medicine. 2024;30:1333–1342. 

🔁 OCD

😰 Anxiety

🍽️ Eating Disorders

🧍‍♂️ Personality Disorders

🔥 Chronic Pain

1. 🆕 📄 Title: Ibogaine a Potential Opioid Alternative for Chronically Ill Palliative Patients (Hospice News) 2025
   👥 Author: Not specified (Hospice News report)
   🔗 Link: Hospice News (online) link down

🧠 Summary: This feature article reports on emerging clinical programs exploring ibogaine as therapy for chronic pain in palliative and hospice settings, documenting anecdotal cases where ibogaine helped reduce reliance on opioids and reset pain perception pathways.

📊 Results:

• Self-reported reductions in opioid use, sometimes complete cessation, following ibogaine therapy.

• Patients reported increased pain tolerance and reduced tolerance to pain medications, facilitating lower dose regimens or discontinuation.

✅ Conclusion: Anecdotal evidence suggests ibogaine may serve as an opioid-sparing option for chronic pain among palliative care recipients, justifying the need for controlled clinical trials to validate safety and efficacy in this vulnerable population.

📚 Citation: Ibogaine a potential opioid alternative for chronically ill palliative patients. Hospice News. 2025.

3. 📄 Title: Case Report: Ibogaine Reduced Severe Neuropathic Pain Associated with a Case of Brachial Plexus Nerve Root Avulsion, Frontiers in Pain Research 2023
   👥 Authors: Jonathan E. Dickinson, Jose Adalberto Dominguez Inzunza, Trevor G. Millar, Abhiram P. Pushparaj
   🔗 Link: PubMed 37720911

🧠 Summary: A single-case report examining a 53-year-old male with intractable neuropathic pain from brachial plexus avulsion (20 years post-trauma), who received a high-dose inpatient “saturation” ibogaine regimen and subsequent low-dose outpatient maintenance.

📊 Results:

• The patient experienced profound and sustained pain reduction across the treatment period, enabling reduction in pain medication and improved functionality.

• No serious cardiac or neurological adverse effects were reported, although the high-dose inpatient protocol carries potential tolerability and safety concerns 

✅ Conclusion: Ibogaine may alleviate severe, chronic neuropathic pain in refractory cases, though tolerability of high-dose protocols and safety concerns warrant further structured clinical study.

📚 Citation: Dickinson JE, Dominguez Inzunza JA, Millar TG, Pushparaj AP. Case report: Ibogaine reduced severe neuropathic pain associated with a case of brachial plexus nerve root avulsion. Frontiers in Pain Research. 2023;4:1186806. 

📚 Evidence & Citation Policy

All research summaries on this site are based on peer-reviewed studies, clinical trials, meta-analyses, and systematic reviews. Each study includes citation details with direct hyperlinks to PubMed or the publishing journal. While we strive for accuracy, readers are encouraged to review the source materials directly. This site does not offer medical advice; for treatment decisions, please consult a licensed clinician.