IBOGAINE
The fact is, there never seems to be enough research into drugs for addiction cures, or pills to help with the pains of withdrawals or experiments to discover different detox/rehab/maintenance techniques etc. Britain spends only 13% of its annual drugs bill on treatment, with only a fraction going towards research. The leaps and bounds that have been made in science this century - and we're still stuck with methadone, lofexidine and naltraxone implants! This regular column will attempt to dig out information on what's happening with drug research from around the world on including drugs for detox, for using, for side-effects, for cures and - most importantly- for our health.
This issue we bring you detox major - league.........

SAY WHAT????!
Well, its supporters are claiming that Ibogaine could painlessly cure opiate addiction, stop one's desire to use drugs again and may even be effective in treating cocaine, alcohol and tobacco addiction.

HOW?
Actually, it sounds like one heavy trip. Ibogaine is a naturally occurring psychoactive alkoloid derived from the root of the African plant 'tabernanthe iboga'. Patients are administered with the drug and monitored throughout a 36 hour 'walking dream', where they experience incredible visions. Simplified, the visions are supposed to give you deep insights into yourself and your behaviour whilst normalising the brainwaves that had become abnormal through addiction. One is said to awake cured of the urge to take drugs and therapy is often implemented afterwards to help analyse one's thoughts and visions.

MUST BE SOME TRIP!!
Yeah. People have reported seeing some seriously amazing things. Although most reports of the experience and cure have been favourable, (many are posted on the internet.) there are those who have had a 'bad trip'. One 'alcoholic' reported, "Ibogaine worked for me for a month because it makes you so physically sick you can't even stand the thought of eating, much less drinking......the visions were excruciating". The trouble is that although more than 4000 research papers have been written on this subject only 300 people have undergone treatment with Ibogaine this decade - too few on which to base serious research.

SO WHERE ARE THE DRUG COMPANIES ON THIS?
The F.D.A. (the U.S. Food and Drug Administration) gave the go ahead for human testing and the D.E.A. (we know who they are!) are co-operating. However, that work should have been completed by now. The fact that there has been a legal dispute going on between Ibogaine's two most fervent campaigners, Howard Lotsof and Dr Deborah Mash has not helped matters. There is also talk of a 'Methadone Mafia' firmly entrenched in the scientific-medical community and resistance to new technology by the old guard. Howard Lotsof, himself a former drug user (cured of his own heroin and coke addiction after accidentally stumbling across Ibogaine in the '60s) is facing his own hurdles with his attempts to market a proprietary pharmaceutical Ibogaine preparation called 'Endabuse'. To think that an informal self help culture of addicts with no political power and no big industry connections, are halfway towards bringing a drug to the market (which can cost $20 - 50 million) is staggering and indicative of Lots of faith in the Ibogaine.

SO WHAT ABOUT BRITAIN AND THE REST OF THE WORLD?

In Britain, as in most of the world, Ibogaine is simply not registered on classified drugs lists. As a result, treatment is available- at a price - across the world. A seven day hospital programme with Lotsof in Panama costs between $8000-$20 000. Dr Mash runs a 14 day programme in St Kitts for $10,000 and Eric Taub, another devout Ibogaine advocate has clinics in Costa Rica and Italy, offering treatment starting at $2000. Despite Ibogaine being classed under the hard drugs category in the U.S (1970 Controlled Substances Act) the research is continuing.

IS IT WORTH TRYING?

Without therapy, one in eight patients are totally cured. Studies have shown that about 80% of patients treated with Ibogaine remain drug free from three to six months, while about 10% remain drug free for two years and another 10% remain drug free for only 2 weeks. There is an indication that intermittent treatment may be required if a users long-term goal is abstinence. Obviously, more research needs to be done and at the moment patients are basically paying fortunes to be guinea pigs. Whether the big companies will back a drug that stops people taking other drugs, remains to be seen. It does however, deserve to be given serious research into its potential as a treatment alternative. User groups in the Netherlands and New York have successfully initiated trials to investigate Ibogaines use in dependency treatment. If user groups here can successfully lobby their locaprogress.......l M.Ps, we can make research into Ibogaine therapy a reality in Britain. We will keep you posted about Ibogaine and its
progress…..
Written 2000 issue 1