Ibogaine

Ibogaine Ibogaine is a hallucinogenic drug that has been used for hundreds of years by members of an African religious group. It has been suggested that ibogaine may have a potential use as a treatment for some types of drug addiction.

Ibogaine is a naturally occurring chemical from an African shrub that is traditionally used by West and Central African groups for its dream like effects. In recent years, Western scientists have been investigating its use as a medicine to combat dependence and withdrawal from a variety of addictive drugs.

Ibogaine is a psychoactive drug found in the root bark of the African shrub Tabernanthe iboga. Some African people take the drug in its natural root bark form, although in the West it is more commonly available as ibogaine hydrochloride, an off-white powder that has either been made in a laboratory or chemically extracted from the plant. Local African names for the root bark include iboga and eboka.

The traditional users of ibogaine are the Bwiti, a West-Central African religious group predominant among the people of Gabon and Cameroon. Bwiti members consume the iboga root bark as part of an initiation ritual when they reach puberty. Ibogaine enables them to experience dreamlike visions that are believed to spiritually integrate the individual into the group. This practice appears to date back several centuries and may have originated somewhat earlier in the Congo basin. Some Africans also use smaller doses of the root bark to stay alert and to help them recover from illness.

The Bwiti consume ibogaine by eating the iboga root bark in the presence of a priest, who supervises the appropriate dose. Western users usually take the drug for recreation by swallowing a capsule of its pure hydrochloride form. A normal dose is around 10 milligrams per kilogram of body weight, although opiate addicts, such as those who take heroin or methadone, often need more to experience an effect. The dose of ibogaine is absorbed through the digestive system into the blood, by which it is carried to the brain. Typically, a user will feel the initial dreamlike effects of the drug around an hour after taking it, and then enter an introspective phase that starts after a few hours and lasts for about half a day.