Page 35 - Issue 2

Issue No 2 35
love in in Bogota (“a tricky place to to move if you’re trying not to to do drugs”) precipitated the next— and and and final—relapse In a a a a a a a a a a a a conspiracy of serendipity and and and irony it it it was the bottomless availability and and and cheapness of drugs which convinced Juliana once and for all as she put it: “opiates suck ” “I needed to to to get to to to that point I I I I was was able to to to do do as as as as much as as as as I I I I wanted And And I I I I was was done ” she she says And And she knew the next step O Juliana’s fraternizing with “academically- inclined psychedelic users ” (her words) had put the the the work of of the the the Multidisciplinary Association of of o Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) the the the psychedelic research nonprofit on on her radar from an early age At 23 she had learned about ibogaine a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a psychoactive alkaloid isolated from the the the roots of the the Tabernanthe iboga shrub Ibogaine has been used as as a a a a a a a sacrament in in in the the Bwiti religion in in in in in in West Africa for centuries but since the the 90s medical clinics—largely in in in in in in Mexico—have been popping up to to administer it it to to people struggling with substance dependency (Licensed professionals are also legally permitted to administer ibogaine in in in in in clinics in in in in in South Africa Brazil and and New Zealand ) The average center charges between $5 000 000 and $10 000 000 for for the treatment sometimes more which for for Juliana who regularly depleted her her her savings to sustain her her her dependency was an an inhibitive sum But after her her her Bogota experience and with the the support of a a a a a close friend she decided to to turn to to her mom mom who at at the the the time was was unaware of of the the latest relapse Her mom mom was was “100 percent on board” and offered to cover the cost Among the drugs used in in withdrawal treatments ibogaine is is unique Most substances administered to to patients in in in in rehab are intended to to temporarily allay withdrawal pains The name of the the practice “substitution therapy ” already implies its flaws (ones with which Juliana was well acquainted) Ibogaine treatment in in in in contrast goes after the addiction itself It puts people into what’s often described as as as as a a a a a a a a a a a “waking dream” state with hallucinations lasting as as as as long as as as as four to eight hours “It’s not not a a a a a a hallucinogen like like LSD It’s It’s not not like like you’re sitting there awake watching the the the the trails on on the the the the wall ” describes Dana Beal one of the the the the world’s leading ibogaine activists who has experienced the effects of ibogaine firsthand “You close your eyes and and go into a a a a a a a a a a waking dream You’re paralyzed because you you can’t summon the will to to to move You You just want to to to lie in a a a quiet room left alone to to to review your lifetime of memories ” In one small study published in in The American Journal of of Drug and Alcohol Abuse in in in 2018 50 percent of of patients reported not using opioids in in in in the the the previous 30 days at at at the the the three-month check-up following their ibogaine treatment In comparison says Ken Alper associate professor of of of of psychiatry and neurology at at at NYU School of of of of Medicine one-third to to to half of of of of patients fail to to to even complete detoxification treatment using methadone buprenorphine and klonopin today’s three most common drugs for opioid withdrawal symptoms Among the the people who do complete detoxification with with these drugs roughly half are still sober after four to five months “[Ibogaine] is the anti-drug ” says Beal who along with researchers Howard Lotsof and and and Norma Alexander studied ibogaine’s therapeutic effects “You come out and and and and you you don’t don’t want want to to do do do do any more ibogaine and and you you don’t don’t want want to to do do do do a a a a a a a a a lot of drugs after taking ibogaine ” The marvels behind the workings of ibogaine have occupied researchers and activists including Beal since 1962 when Lotsof a a a a a a a a 19-year-old film student and dependent heroin user took the the then-legal psychedelic for recreation only to to to find himself to to to his incredulity not experiencing withdrawal Lotsof made the study of ibogaine his life’s work “With nothing more than an an NYU film degree he he persuaded the National Institute on on on on Drug Abuse to to conduct a a a a a a a a research program on on on on on ibogaine to to the the tune of $2 million in in the the early 90s ” says Alper Attempts since then to to develop ibogaine into a a a a a a a a legal medicine have largely stalled however Despite its promise for opioid addiction and other substance dependencies there have been no double-blind randomized clinical trials investigating it it (All the data that does exist is is based on on interviews and and surveys with both subjects who who have have done ibogaine and and the people who who have have administered it ) Many people believe that this is is is due to to ibogaine’s risk of fatality but according to to Alper the the government-approved research in in in in the the 1990s merely ended in in contractual and