Page 37 - Issue 2

Issue No 2 37
right the implications might extend past opioid addiction—to addiction addiction itself “If you you understand opioid addiction you’re going to discover things that are helpful for other addictions as well because of of the the very fundamental nature of of of opioid addiction addiction ” says Alper “There is is a a a a a a a a a lot of of evidence in in eating disorders or or other compulsions that there’s an involvement of opioid signaling ” Alcohol sex even screen-gazing all have been related to opioid signaling in in in in in the the brain If ibogaine alleviates or reverses some of the the changes in in in brain cells caused by addictive behavior what might it reveal about why people become addicted in the first place?
“Ibogaine isn’t about about finding one treatment for addiction: it’s about about about understanding the nature of all addiction addiction addiction ” Alper says “Ibogaine is about about understanding understanding addiction addiction itself and and and based on on that understanding understanding there is a a a a a a a a a prospect for the the development of fundamentally new treatments ” Alper doesn’t think however that ibogaine is going to be it As an an an an alternative he’s helping Canadian company Mind Mind Medicine Inc (“Mindmed”) research 18-methoxycoronaridine (18-mc) a a a a a a a a synthetic derivative of ibogaine ibogaine developed in in in in the the the early 90s to avoid ibogaine’s risks and hallucinations In September the the the company announced they’re
planning to investigate the the drug for opioid use disorder A A pharmaceutical company Alper says is unlikely to invest in in in in ibogaine because it’s a a a a a a a a a a a a a naturally-occurring chemical and can’t be be patented for profit And even if they did the the FDA probably wouldn’t approve fit it it because o of its risks This he says speaks to a a a a a much larger bias in in our society something which former NIDA director Alan Leshner Leshner famously called “the great disconnect ” Stigma says Leshner Leshner has created a a a a a a a a a a a a a a situation in America where substance dependence is treated as as pathological rather than as as a a a a a a a a a a a a “chronic relapsing and treatable illness ” For Alper misgivings about ibogaine are the the exemplar of the great disconnect “Yes ibogaine has dangers but what about the gravity of untreated dependence?” he he says “If you’re you’re developing a a a a a a a a cancer treatment like chemotherapy you’re you’re going to to tolerate serious side effects Addiction being a a a a life threatening