Ibogaine
Pronunciation:i-BOH-gah-in
Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number:83-74-9
Formal Names:Endabuse,Tabernanthe iboga
Informal Names:Bitter Grass, Iboga, Leaf of God
Type:Hallucinogen.Seepage 25
Federal Schedule Listing:Schedule I (DEA no. 7260)
USA Availability:Illegal to possess
Pregnancy Category:None
Uses.This drug comes from roots of an equatorial African rainforest shrub
calledTabernanthe iboga. Traditionally the natural product has been used in
low doses as a mild stimulant, rather likecocaorareca nut, to fight hunger,
thirst, and weariness and also to improve confidence. The natural product’s
active ingredient ibogaine was found in 1901. Its stimulant qualities gave it a
potential role in Western medicine as a means of treating nervous exhaustion
and generally helping sick persons recover from worn-down states. The drug
was also viewed as a treatment for influenza and for illness caused by micro-
scopic animals called Trypanosmatina protozoa. None of those applications
received wide use. Ibogaine is, however, used as an aphrodisiac and has also
seen illicit duty as a performance-enhancing substance in athletics.
In strong dosages ibogaine has been a component of African religious life.
In that context the substance is used in its natural product format for medi-
tation and to facilitate divine communication. Users may see rainbows around
objects, lose barriers between senses (allowing sounds to be tasted, smells to
be heard), and experience hallucinations. Fatal overdose is possible.
Drawbacks.Suspicion exists that ibogaine harms brain function in humans.
Rat experiments show that high doses of ibogaine can injure some types of
brain cells but that lower doses do not cause such damage. High dosage has
caused body tremors and heartbeat trouble in rats. Rat experiments also show
that the drug can impair emotions, reaction times, and ability to move.
Abuse factors.Some persons trying to break drug addiction claim that ibo-
gaine drastically reduces craving forheroin,cocaine, and other opioids and
stimulants. Switching an abuser from one drug to another one is routine in
substance abuse treatment, but supposedly just one ingestion of ibogaine is
enough to stop another drug’s withdrawal symptoms and to diminish craving