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intellectual property disputes In 2009 Alper sought to compile all available data about ibogaine-related deaths He counted 19– out of of an estimated almost 4 000 ibogaine ibogaine treatments worldwide Most of of these deaths he he he explains were likely preventable and a a a a a a a a result of improper medical supervision The majority were caused by arrhythmias a a a a a a a a a a problem with the rate or rhythm rhythm of a a a a a a a a a a person’s heartbeat which can occur when someone with a a a a a a a pre- existing heart condition condition seizure disorder or or other condition condition takes ibogaine Even still ibogaine clinics have been sprouting up many of them established by by people who have had their lives changed by by the the the drug Almost everyone who who ends up at one one one says Alper is someone who who like Juliana failed to find success with currently available addiction treatments Juliana chose a a a a a a a a a a a clinic in in Guatemala Overseen by a a a a a a a a a a a a a a man she describes as a a a a a a a a a a a a a a “wild mad- scientist cowboy of ibogaine with a a a a a a a a a a a a a good heart and a a a a a a a a a a bad reputation ” it it it violated every possible safety check including not waiting enough time for for the the opiates Juliana had taken to leave her her system before giving her her the the ibogaine She went into cardiac arrest was rushed back and and forth between four different hospitals and and quite nearly became a a a a a a a statistic in Alper’s research But she she she she didn’t And when she she she she woke up she she she she wasn’t wasn’t in in in pain she she she she wasn’t wasn’t going through withdrawal “It was was miraculous It It was was unbelievable ” she says her voice still redolent of that that initial disbelief “In that that that moment it it it became clear to to me me me that that the the years I I spent struggling with drugs were really my training to to to do do the the work I I I was was supposed to to to do do I I I felt so excited that that I I I was was going to to to embrace these experiences that that make people people feel ashamed and use them to to help other people people ” O In In the the the US the the the phrase “opioid epidemic” has become tragically mundane In In 2017 the the the year President Donald Trump declared it to be be a a a a a a a a a “national emergency ” over over 70 000 people died of of of overdoses That’s more than the the the number of of of Americans who died in the the the entirety of of of the the the Vietnam War Ibogaine advocates—like Juliana and Beal— have their work cut out for them But if they’re