Novel treatment of opioid use disorder using ibogaine and iboga in two adults
Claire Wilson, Trevor Millar, Zak Matieschyn
Journal of Evolutionary Psychology March 30, 2020 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1556/2054.2020.00133 via OpenAlex
Summary
Ibogaine, a psychedelic medicine, shows potential in treating opioid use disorder. In one case, a client achieved total abstinence from opioids within 5–6 days of starting ibogaine treatment and maintained this for 3 years. Another patient stopped non-medical opioids after the first treatment and has remained abstinent for 2 years while using ibogaine to reduce their opioid agonist therapy dosage. More research is needed to understand ibogaine's safety and effectiveness as an addiction treatment.
Study at a glance
| Design | case series |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 2 |
| Population | individuals with opioid use disorder accessing ibogaine treatment |
| Key finding | One individual achieved total abstinence from opioids within 5–6 days of ibogaine treatment and maintained it for 3 years. |
Abstract
Abstract Ibogaine is a naturally occurring psychedelic medicine with anti-addictive properties. While research on ibogaine is limited, several observational studies have shown ibogaine can mitigate opioid withdrawal, as seen with reductions in clinical and subjective opioid withdrawal scores and reduced drug use severity (Noller, Frampton, & Yazar-Klosinski, 2018; Brown & Alper 2018). Furthermore, the psychoactive experience may help individuals to realign their values, purpose and sense of connection, as seen with post treatment reductions in depression scores (Noller et al., 2018; Mash et al., 2000). Case series This case series describes two cases of individuals accessing ibogaine through private unregulated clinics in the Vancouver area to treat their opioid use disorder. Conclusions In case 1, the client achieved total abstinence from all opioids within 5–6 days of starting ibogaine treatment, did not experience any opioid withdrawal symptoms after ibogaine treatment and maintained abstinence from opioids for 3 years. In case 2, the patient took ibogaine/iboga in multiple treatments over a short period of time (<4 months). The patient stopped all non-medical opioids after the first iboga treatment and then used ibogaine to aid with further dose reductions of her opioid agonist therapy (OAT) and has maintained abstinence from opioids for 2 years. Ibogaine offers a unique and novel therapeutic approach to treating opioid use disorder. Further studies are needed to establish the safety, risks and potential role for ibogaine as a mainstream, evidence-based addiction treatment.