Year: 2022

Psychedelics can change humanity for the better its time to unlock their power

MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) is a non-profit research and educational organization that develops medical, legal, and cultural contexts for people to benefit from the careful uses of psychedelics. Rick Doblin is a researcher at MAPS, and in “Psychedics can change humanity for the better. It’s time to unlock their power,” he delivers one of the most compelling cases for a range of psychedelics in helping those suffering from mental health and addiction issues. 

Doblin and his team work primarily with MDMA, ketamine, psilocybin, and ibogaine. As Doblin rightly states, indigenous communities worldwide have used psychedelics for hundreds, if not thousands of years in spiritual ceremonies and for healing. MAPS collaborates with researchers to facilitate the studies of psychedelic-assisted therapy with the hope that these interventions eventually become mainstream. MAPS research has found great effectiveness with ibogaine to treat opioid use disorder.   

Read full article here: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/nov/26/psychedelics-can-change-humanity-for-the-better-its-time-to-unlock-their-power

Ibogaine for addiction treatment

In 1962, a prominent scientist by the name of Howard Lotsof and his six friends decided to ingest ibogaine powder. The reason why? They were struggling mightily with heroin addiction and were on their last legs. The result – five of the six immediately quit heroin. 

Far from a robust longitudinal study, the results fascinated many. Fast-forward to the present and we know ibogaine has the potential to ameliorate a host of maladies. We’re treated to a comprehensive summary of the future of ibogaine in  “Ibogaine Use in Addiction Treatment: An Overview.” The global drug addiction treatment market is expected to reach a staggering $37.7 billion by 2027. It is hard to find anyone who does not know someone struggling with an addiction. It is for this reason that ibogaine is now on the radar of leading life-science firms.

Read full article here: https://investingnews.com/ibogaine-for-addiction-treatment/

What if everyone took psychedelics

Psychedelics have a long history in popular culture. Typically viewed as counter-culture, primarily due to their Schedule-1 classification in the US and a Class-A classification in the UK, psychedelics are not entirely legal as any savvy reader could tell you. With that said, we have certainly witnessed waves of psychedelic renaissances over the years. Yet, it would appear that the last 5 years have been different. 

As Ed Prideaux details in “The worldview-changing drugs poised to go mainstream,” the difference we’re experiencing today is the psychiatric acceptance of psychedelics like ibogaine to treat a range of conditions: childhood autism, depression, criminal recidivism, schizophrenia, and alcoholism. A mind-boggling 6,000 studies covering 40,000 plus patients have been completed and the data could not be clearer.

Read full article here: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210906-what-if-everyone-took-psychedelics

Osoyoos indian band eyes cutting edge drug treatment centre

Partnerships exist in all walks of life. But a collaborative project between the Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB) and a company called Universal Ibogaine might be the first of its kind. 

Ibogaine has been a staple of many West African communities. Derived from the iboga shrub, its history as a spiritual sacrament is well-founded. But it wasn’t until the 1960s that practitioners began to experiment with ibogaine’s psychedelic components to treat a wide range of mental health and addiction issues.

Universal Ibogaine trades on the TSX Venture Exchange and the objective of the OIB joint venture is to build out an ibogaine center detox clinic. In “Osoyoos Indian Band eyes cutting-edge drug treatment centre,” author Joe Fries details this novel partnership. The opioid crisis claimed a shocking 2,224 lives in B.C. in 2021. Both entities feel ibogaine can play a critical role in treating opioid addiction, serving as a viable alternative to the more standard opioid substitution therapies.

Read the full article here: https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/osoyoos-indian-band-eyes-cutting-edge-drug-treatment-centre

Psychedelic Interest Booms

Despite global COVID shutdowns and declines in medical research funding not related to the pandemic, interest in psychedelic use to treat addictions and other psychological issues is booming.   

The rise in popularity is happening in the business sector and beyond. While specific industries suffered economic blows due to COVID, notable psychedelic companies either went public or secured millions in funding. Currently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is conducting clinical trials involving psychedelic substances such as ibogaine, ketamine, and psilocybin. At the moment, ibogaine, a natural extract used in various countries to treat addiction, is a Schedule 1 drug and not approved for medical use in the United States.

There may not be a more optimal time to explore the therapeutic power of ibogaine. Over 15 million Americans suffer from depression, and some forms of depression have proven resistant to treatment. Millions suffer from substance addiction and co-occurring disorders.  

Read the full article here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2020/06/09/why-the-future-of-mental-health-care-may-lie-in-psychedelics/?sh=63f8f5c55bac

Scientists Develop Synthetic Form of Ibogaine

University of California, Davis researchers have created a non-hallucinogenic version of ibogaine. The new substance could prove just as effective as the psychedelic original used to treat addiction and psychological illnesses such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

David Olson, an assistant professor of chemistry at UC Davis, detailed the discovery in the December 2020 issue of Nature.   

In the study, a series of rodent experiments showed that mice decreased their alcohol consumption and experienced a delayed opiate relapse when given the non-hallucinogenic Tabernanthalog (TBG). The synthetic version is water-soluble and has fewer adverse effects than ibogaine. Olson says he’s optimistic that TBG can treat addiction and many illnesses related to addiction, such as depression and anxiety.

Read the full article here: https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/new-compound-related-psychedelic-ibogaine-could-treat-addiction-depression