Jordan Belfort — the real-life “Wolf of Wall Street” — told The Post he knows the “magic bullet” for the opioid crisis: the illegal psychedelic ibogaine.
“When I woke up from the [ibogaine ‘trip’], I no longer craved opiates. I had no more physical addiction,” the 61-year-old said.
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) classifies ibogaine as a Schedule I substance and it’s currently not approved for medical use in the US, although there has been a bipartisan push to legalize that, particularly for veterans suffering from PTSD.
Belfort was treated at a clinic near Cancun, Mexico, earlier this year.
The former cocaine addict, who served 22 months in prison for pump-and-dump stock fraud, had previously claimed he quit doing more than 25 years ago, but now admits that wasn’t exactly true.
“I got sober in 1997. Then over a period of two years I had six surgeries … I was taking Vicodin and I was at the point where I’m like, you know, if this goes on much longer, I’m going to get addicted. I call my doctors [and they said], ‘Oh, you should go on Suboxone —you can stop taking any more opiates and it doesn’t get you high,’” he recalled of the controversial opiate which is prescribed for weaning addicts off opioids but can itself cause severe withdrawal symptom.
“[They] didn’t tell me how impossible it would be to get off it! So I was taking Suboxone for 10 years,” Belfort added. “I wasn’t abusing Suboxone but I couldn’t stop taking it.”
Belfort said he tried to quit Suboxone “many, many times” but was always deterred by the “terrible withdrawals.”
He calls his last failed attempt, at a rapid detox center this year, “a total disaster” before he looked at ibogaine out of desperation to kick Suboxone for good.
He admitted he was hesitant at first, because of the negative things he’d heard about psychedelics.
“I grew up in the era when they really demonized psychedelics: ‘If you take one hit of LSD you jump out a window and you’ll never be the same,’” he said. “I stayed away from psychedelics. Ironically, some of these psychedelics are incredibly potent as a healing mechanism especially when administered the right way.”
He turned to Mike “Zappy” Zapolin, a filmmaker whose website describes him as a “psychedelic concierge to the stars” and features a video testimonial from former NBA celeb (and Khloé Kardashian ex) Lamar Odom.
“Once I understood Jordan’s addictive nature, I knew that only ibogaine could give him a full reset and rid him of that monkey on his back for the rest of his life,” Zappolin told The Post.
Upon Zapolin’s recommendation, Belfort received treatment at Beond, a resort-style rehab in Mexico that focuses solely on ibogaine therapy.
Amenities include private rooms, in-room massages, healthy meals prepared by a world class chef, water-based therapies and 24/7 to therapists and specialized medicine doctors.
The cost runs about $10,000-$15,000 for an 8- to14-day stay at the center.
Addiction medicine specialist Dr. Martin Polanco, who has worked with ibogaine for 23 years, told The Post that the “treatment’s expense reflects the extensive medical monitoring, qualified staff, facility requirements and overall commitment to patient safety and well-being.”
Polanco said there is constant monitoring, including cardiac and blood pressure, during the treatment, which has potential heart and seizure risks.
“Ibogaine can lead to changes in heart rhythm, which is why thorough cardiac screening and monitoring during experiences is essential. When ibogaine is combined with certain medications it can lead to deadly arrhythmias,” he said.
There have been 33 ibogaine-associated deaths represented in peer-review literature over 20 years, according to Dr. Deborah Mash, an emeritus professor of neurology at the University of Miami who is also the founder and CEO of DemeRx, a pharmaceutical company pursuing Ibogaine as an addiction treatment.
And not everyone in the scientific community is bullish on ibogaine.
“When it comes to these treatments the science is really quite shaky on them but the hype is so big,” Dr. Tyler Black, a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia in the Department of Psychiatry, told The Post. “[People] imagine that this new amazing ‘natural’ substance ibogaine can somehow save the day when the evidence just isn’t there to support its use.”
According to Belfort, he was under medical supervision for his intense 12-hour “trip,” beginning with a “flood dose” of ibogaine.
“Ibogaine is not something you take for fun. I couldn’t imagine doing it for pleasure … I felt it working… burning through my body,” he claimed.
He said he didn’t have the deep spiritual experience some people report.
“You know, some people have [visions] very intensely. I saw some visions, but I didn’t didn’t go as far as to be having a conversation with my father who’s passed away,” Belfort said. “I did feel like … like I had a deeper understanding of myself.”
Belfort said he’s been Suboxone-free ever since.
An alkaloid found in the roots of Tabernanthe iboga, a shrub native to West Africa, ibogaine is believed to work “on many levels,” said Polanco, who is the founder of The Mission Within, a clinical program serving veterans with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), post-traumatic stress, depression, and/or addiction as a result of experiences during military service.
While researchers don’t know exactly how ibogaine works, research on rats has provided clues.
Polanco detailed a “reset” to the brain’s reward pathways, so that it reduces craving and withdrawal symptoms. Ibogaine is also said to promote neuroplasticity, enabling the brain to form new patterns of behavior and thinking.
Polanco believes that the psychedelic properties induce introspection to gain insight into the root causes of addiction.
A growing number of advocacy groups, including veteran organizations, are trying to change the US government’s position on the psychedelic as a medical treatment for opiate addiction and PTSD.
In June, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a Republican, announced $42 million in funding towards ibogaine treatment for opioid addiction.
The money comes out of a settlement the state received from lawsuits against corporations, including Johnson & Johnson, accused of fueling the opioid crisis.
A month later, former Navy SEAL Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R- TX) created what he called “a really wild coalition,” with Rep. J. Luis Correa (D-CA) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D- NY), to co-sponsor a bill that expands psychedelic research and medical usage.
In New York, Assembly Bill A6210, sponsored by Rep. David Weprin, a Queens Democrat, would “require the office of addiction services and support to encourage, aid, and facilitate clinical research into the use of ibogaine in drug treatment.”
“It’s completely baffling to me how it’s illegal in the United States and there’s this massive opioid crisis, right?” Belfort said. “It should be tightly controlled. It would save so many lives and help so many families.”
After Belfort took to YouTube to sing the praises of ibogaine and Beond, skeptical commenters accused him of touting his experience for financial gain — but he’s quick to shut them down.
“I’m not getting paid a red cent for this,” he said. “I’m happy to speak about it because I think it’s important.”
Originally published in New York Post on Sep. 7, 2023 – Jordan Belfort: Illegal psychedelic cured my addiction and opiate cravings by Jenn Hoffman.
