The lasting personal transformations facilitated by ibogaine have been known in the Americas for as long as the plant medicine has been here. But long before its Western debut, iboga (Tabernanthe iboga) was and still is regarded as a sacred plant in its native home of Gabon.
For millennia, the Babongo and Mbembe peoples of Gabon have used iboga in healing, divination, and initiation rites within the Bwiti spiritual tradition. It is not only medicine; it is a teacher, protector, and gateway to profound insight. Today, iboga is officially recognized as part of Gabon’s national cultural heritage.
The introduction of ibogaine, one of iboga’s primary alkaloids, to the West began in 1962 when an opioid-dependent polydrug user, Howard Lotsof, took ibogaine expecting a hallucinogenic experience. What he didn’t expect, however, was the profound and persistent interruption of his heroin cravings and withdrawal symptoms. In Lotsof’s own words:
“Suddenly, I realized that I was not in heroin withdrawal. Where previously I had viewed heroin as a drug which gave me comfort, I now viewed heroin as a drug which emulated death. The very next thought into my mind was, ‘I prefer life to death.’”
Lotsof’s unexpected discovery compelled him to champion ibogaine as a treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs), eventually securing five patents describing its applicability as a lasting treatment for a wide range of substances.(1-5)
Due to the simultaneous introduction of ibogaine to the West and the discovery of its long-lasting antiaddictive properties, many consider ibogaine to be nearly synonymous with sustained healing.
In 1987, Lotsof traveled to Gabon and pleaded with then-President Omar Bongo for 40 kilograms of iboga free of charge to support his research. The request was granted under the guidance of Professor Jean-Noël Gassita, the leading global expert on the plant.
Lotsof saw iboga not just as medicine, but as a means to “save the world from drug dependency,” especially among African Americans, whom he acknowledged may be descendants of enslaved Gabonese.
The Powerful Testimonies Driving Innovation
Since Lotsof’s ibogaine-led transformation, an estimated 10,000 people have been treated with the natural plant medicine.(6)
Many of these individuals have shared compelling testimonies that mirror Lotsof’s. Common themes run throughout the reports, such as the experience of visions and visuals, a decrease or elimination of drug cravings, an increase in insight, and a feeling of connection with the sacred.(7)
The testimonies of many of Beond’s own alumni echo these themes:
“…flooding abundance of visions that ultimately became the answers to my questions.”
“I have identified the key underlying issues that have been blocking the ‘true me’ from emerging and expressing himself. I have found myself again, and can love me. I was and am not broken; I am whole and healing.”
“I continued to suffer from relapse after relapse because I could never tap into the root cause of my substance misuse. Ibogaine profoundly helped to treat the root cause of many of my issues…”
Although the efficacy of ibogaine treatment has yet to be evaluated in gold-standard clinical trials, over 700 less-rigorous human studies have been performed. They generally report the immediate and persistent lessening of withdrawal symptoms and cravings characteristic of drug dependence, as well as the lessening of mood symptoms associated with depression and PTSD.(8)
At Beond, the testimonies of our patients are honored and valued. In fact, they are the driving force behind everything that we do.
In addition to serving patients through clinical practice and holistic healing, we also conduct cutting-edge clinical research to record and share the transformational stories of our clients as broadly and quickly as possible, with the understanding that these are preliminary data and still need to go through the peer-review process.
Doing so advances the foundational scientific knowledge of ibogaine’s healing effects and spreads these positive results to many who may be encouraged to seek treatment.
The Mystery of Ibogaine’s Long-Lasting Effects
Unlike conventional treatments that require continuous administration such as methadone, ibogaine can induce sustained change after only a short course of treatment. Researchers have proposed several mechanisms for this phenomenon, one of which being ibogaine’s potential ability to promote structural changes in the brain.
In a few studies, ibogaine-treated rodents made proteins that support brain neuron growth and connectivity faster than their non-ibogaine-treated peers.(9)
These effects may contribute to ibogaine’s ability to promote sustained healing in people with SUDs, PTSD, and traumatic brain injury.(10) However, more long-term studies are needed to fully understand the extent and durability of these ibogaine-induced neuronal changes.
Another hypothesis for ibogaine’s persistent effects stems from its ability to lessen depression symptoms.(11,12)
The idea is that ibogaine’s interaction with the serotonin system in the brain, which is a target for a class of antidepressants called SSRIs, may play a role in mood stabilization.
In turn, these mood-enhancing effects may contribute to ibogaine’s long-lasting anti-addictive properties by helping individuals address the underlying emotional distress that often fuels negative behaviors and habits.
The Ethics of Access: Honoring the Roots of Iboga
Today, the Western demand for ibogaine has contributed to a troubling rise in illegal harvesting and the depletion of wild iboga in Gabon. Because the plant takes 5 to 7 years to reach maturity, overexploitation has severely impacted its availability, especially for the traditional healers and spiritual leaders who have used it responsibly for generations.
To combat this crisis, Gabon signed the Nagoya Protocol in 2011 to protect its biological resources and intellectual heritage. In 2015, the NGO Blessings of the Forest (BOTF) was founded under the mentorship of Professor Gassita. Their missions were to conserve iboga, restore ethical access, and ensure that Gabonese communities who are the original stewards of this medicine are at the forefront of its future.
BOTF has helped establish the first legal iboga supply chain in line with the Nagoya Protocol. In 2018, after persistent advocacy, Gabon banned all iboga exports outside this framework. TerraGnosis (in partnership with BOTF) became the first international organization to gain ethical access to iboga through a Gabonese community, fully compliant with the Nagoya Protocol.
Though many researchers now turn to Voacanga africana or synthetic ibogaine for supply, the question remains: How can we benefit from a sacred medicine without exploiting its origin? Gabonese communities are asking the world not to repeat the mistakes made with tobacco and coca, sacred plants co-opted by Western industries without regard for Indigenous wisdom or consent.
Preliminary Results on Ibogaine’s Mood-Regulation Effects
Treatment strategies that lessen emotional upset by facilitating insight and self-acceptance have already been demonstrated through research to help individuals abstain from or decrease compulsive behaviors. These evidence-based tools are successfully utilized by Beond to promote enduring, healthy change in participants.(15)
Recovery progress can take time and time-consuming through such traditional cognitive methods. In the first days and weeks of a program, individuals often experience significant emotional discomfort and cravings, both of which are risk factors for relapse.
By promoting insight and brain healing, ibogaine may provide a novel treatment option for emotional dysregulation.
At Beond, we are committed to actively investigating this hypothesis. While our initial studies showed short-term improvements in the moods of patients post-ibogaine treatment, the long-term effects remain unexplored. We recognize, however, that fully understanding the enduring impacts of ibogaine on mood will be critical for advancing science and providing exceptional integration support to our patients. Therefore, we have undertaken a 12-month study on the impact of ibogaine treatment on depression and anxiety symptoms.
Our new study carefully tracks and quantifies the anxiety and depression symptoms of drug-dependent patients who received ibogaine treatment at Beond. Even though we have only collected data through month 2 so far, a strong and encouraging trend is emerging. The data clearly demonstrate a significant and sustained reduction in both anxiety and depression symptoms across all post-treatment time points when compared to baseline. This represents a shift from moderate to mild/minimal symptom severity, with improvements lasting for the entirety of the 2-month observation period.
Overcoming the Challenges of Longitudinal Research
Despite the observed positive effects of ibogaine treatment, studying its long-term impact presents several challenges. One major hurdle is self-selection bias, where individuals who experience positive outcomes may be more likely to participate in follow-up studies, therefore skewing results.
To counter this, we have developed thoughtful, empathetic strategies to decrease relapse-related shame and facilitate honest responding. One such approach involves the inclusion of accountability partners. These spouses, roommates, or close friends of the study participants will support them throughout their integration journey and provide feedback to accompany participants’ self-reports.
Doing so enhances the reliability of data, ensuring a more accurate representation of ibogaine’s effects over time. All reports are submitted through OutcomeMD, a HIPAA-compliant digital outcomes tracking platform that allows participants and their accountability partners to conveniently submit reports regardless of their location.
Another challenge associated with longitudinal studies is that they are, by definition, slow. In contrast to the swift action of the natural medicine itself, conducting rigorous ibogaine research takes time. To combat this issue, we are transparently and expeditiously sharing our encouraging preliminary results as we receive them.
Our hope is that the rapid distribution of our ongoing results will expedite the healing journeys of many.
Safety-Related Best Practices
As previously mentioned, SSRIs and ibogaine both interact with the serotonin system in the brain, causing greater amounts of the neurotransmitter to collect in the spaces between neurons. This increase in extracellular serotonin may be responsible for the positive mood effects of both ibogaine and SSRIs.
However, when the medicines are used together, serotonin levels can reach dangerously high levels. To avoid this negative outcome, all Beond patients taking SSRIs are tapered off on specific schedules recommended by our doctors before ibogaine administration.
As research on ibogaine’s mood effects develops and increasing numbers of patients likely seek treatment at Beond for mood disorders, such SSRI tapering protocols will become even more relevant.
Beond clinicians also take seriously the well-documented cardiac effects associated with ibogaine.(16) In both animals and humans, ibogaine administration often causes a change in the normal pace at which the heart contracts and relaxes. If left untreated, this condition may progress into a dangerous arrhythmia.
It is therefore crucial that ibogaine be administered in a medically equipped treatment center. At Beond, we have the expertise required to anticipate these possible medical complications, as well as the resources to effectively treat them when they do occur.
Before treatment, all patients go through a detailed medical screening. During treatment, ongoing cardiac monitoring allows clinicians to identify and rapidly treat abnormal events. These evidence-based treatment approaches allow Beond patients to receive the benefits of ibogaine.
Conclusion
The preliminary results of our longitudinal study support the scientific and anecdotal reports of the persistent positive effects of ibogaine. But alongside these discoveries, we hold a deep respect for iboga’s origins and a commitment to ethically contributing to its future.
As modern medicine continues to explore ibogaine, it’s time to recognize and collaborate with the Indigenous communities who have guarded its secrets for centuries. Their knowledge extends far beyond iboga, encompassing hundreds of medicinal plants vital to the future of global health.
Additionally, ibogaine-induced neuroplasticity, on the other hand, could explain the improvements in both mood and drug withdrawal symptoms resulting from neural regrowth in areas of the brain involved in each form of symptomology.
It is also an exciting idea that the resulting improvements in mood can benefit people with substance use disorders, most of whom likely identify emotional upsets as a trigger for their urges and cravings.
As Beond’s 12-month longitudinal study on the mood-improving effects of ibogaine continues, we will receive further data that may support the natural medicine’s use as a long-acting mood regulator.
If you are interested in learning more about how ibogaine treatment may alleviate your depression, anxiety, or PTSD symptoms, please visit www.beondibogaine.com. Follow the prompts to sign up for Beond’s newsletter and schedule an informational consultation.
References
1. Lotsof, H. S. United States Patent 4,499,096, 1985.
2. Lotsof, H. S. United States Patent 5,026,697, 1991.
3. Lotsof, H. S. United States Patent 4,857,523, 1989.
4. Lotsof, H. S. United States Patent 4,587,243, 1986.
5. Lotsof, H. S. United States Patent 5,124,994, 1992.
6.Luz, M., & Mash, D. C. (2021). Evaluating the toxicity and therapeutic potential of ibogaine in the treatment of chronic opioid abuse. Expert Opinion on Drug Metabolism & Toxicology, 17(9), 1019–1022. https://doi.org/10.1080/17425255.2021.1944099
7.Davis, A. K., Barsuglia, J. P., Windham-Herman, A.-M., Lynch, M., & Polanco, M. (2017). Subjective effectiveness of ibogaine treatment for problematic opioid consumption: Short- and long-term outcomes and current psychological functioning. Journal of Psychedelic Studies, 1(2), 65–73. https://doi.org/10.1556/2054.01.2017.009
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10. Cherian, K. N., Keynan, J. N., Anker, L., Faerman, A., Brown, R. E., Shamma, A., Keynan, O., Coetzee, J. P., Batail, J.-M., Phillips, A., Bassano, N. J., Sahlem, G. L., Inzunza, J., Millar, T., Dickinson, J., Rolle, C. E., Keller, J., Adamson, M., Kratter, I. H., & Williams, N. R. (2024). Magnesium–ibogaine therapy in veterans with traumatic brain injuries. Nature Medicine, 30(2), 373–381. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02705-w
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