Coastal clinic faces probe for providing hallucinogenic drug

In April, 2008 an article was written in the Province newspaper about the Iboga Therapy House.

The article is no longer available on the Province website, however, we are providing the article text below plus the online comments and responses. The article can be found online at Canada.com, but the comments have not been republished along with the article.

To learn more about the outcome after this article was published, please see an article published in the Coast Reporter titled: No Problem at Iboga House - VCH.


>Jump to Article

>Jump to Comments / Responses

>Jump to ITH Director's response

>Jump to ITH Registered Nurse's response

>Jump to an ITH former client's response


Coastal clinic faces probe for providing hallucinogenic drug
Addicts given hallucinogenic detox derived from African plant
Matthew Ramsey, The Province
Published: Monday, April 21, 2008

Health officials plan to inspect a Sunshine Coast clinic that provides doses of a powerful psychoactive hallucinogenic as a drug-detoxification treatment.

The Iboga Therapy House administers ibogaine, an African shrub-root alkaloid extract illegal in the U.S., but not yet in Canada.

Ibogaine causes what Iboga House program director Sandra Karpetas describes as "a lucid waking dream state" that induces a mental process she compares to "defragging" (defragmenting) a computer hard drive.

One ibogaine user, quoted in a 2002 Journal of the American Medical Association article, described the experience as "like dying and going to hell 1,000 times."

The drug's effects last anywhere from 24 to 36 hours, says Karpetas, and have three distinct phases.

In the first, four-to-six-hour stage, the client loses all muscle control, vomits often and experiences "rapid and chaotic visual imagery."

In the second phase, eight to 14 hours long, hallucinations become distinctly more personal.

Finally, dosed clients enter a period of "residual stimulation," in which they are typically exhausted but mobile and unable to sleep.

An ibogaine dose opens clients' minds to the realities of their addictions, and the residual effects of the drug leaves them enthusiastic about making life changes with little or no drug cravings to contend with for several weeks or months, says Karpetas, 32.

$4,900 for five days

"It's going to give [clients] insight, hopefully, but it's not a cure. Ibogaine is a tool, but a person really has to be prepared to do the inner work."

A five-day detox session at Iboga House costs about $4,900. The ibogaine is imported from Slovenia and Germany. Iboga House has treated 57 clients since March 2006.

Before that, the facility was run and funded by Vancouver pot crusader Marc Emery, who offered the treatments for free.

Karpetas, Emery's former assistant, took over in 2004 and established it as a non-profit society in 2005. Clients are treated one at a time, which means the clinic does not need to be licensed, Karpetas says.

That may be the case, says Gavin Wilson of the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, but inspectors plan to visit the facility, anyway. He admits officials were not aware of the clinic's existence until they were contacted by The Province.

"They will check it out to see if they need to be licensed. We will be looking into it," says Wilson.

The clinic is not registered or funded by the province.

A second ibogaine operation, iVeada, run by former Iboga House client Sheldon Pelletier in Vernon, also is not registered or licensed.

The health authority's main concern is that qualified medical personnel are present when ibogaine is administered, says Wilson.

Medical needs met, clinic says

Karpetas says Iboga House has a registered nurse on staff, a substance-abuse counsellor and two emergency medical technicians.

Because ibogaine can cause heart and liver problems, all clients are required to have heart and liver tests prior to dosing, and those tests are screened by a doctor.

iVeada, now in its second year, employs three registered nurses, screens medical tests, has "sitters" to watch over clients and a makeshift ambulance, says Pelletier.

Despite the precautions, Wilson says the health authority is skeptical.

"All we can do is raise awareness and caution people about using these types of substances. We believe additional research is required, and certainly Health Canada approval, before we would consider using ibogaine."


Five clients studied

U.S.-based MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) is currently studying outcomes for five Iboga House clients who had opiate addictions. A former Iboga Therapy Society director is handling the research.

Karpetas admits the sample set of five is not overly representative.

"It would benefit the ibogaine movement to have a bigger study, better data. Still, it's a start," she says.

University of Miami neurology professor Dr. Deborah Mash began FDA-approved safety studies in 1993 after Howard Lotsof published a review of the research into ibogaine. The FDA stopped the trial after a woman not involved in the study died of an overdose in 1994.

Mash is now embroiled in court proceedings with Lotsof. She argues that Lotsof's patents on using ibogaine to treat cocaine and opiate addiction should be quashed because Lotsof is not a scientist.

Mash has also filed patents on the metabolite noribogaine, which she says is the chemical key to users' feelings of calm after an ibogaine trip.

No real trials, anywhere

"Here I am 13 years later and, God help us, we still don't have any funding," Mash says. "There's never been efficacy trials done anywhere in the world."

Because addicts generally live with complex physical and often mental issues underneath their addictions, a dose of ibogaine without qualified medical experts present could prove disastrous, Mash says.

She fears the potential of ibogaine is being sidelined by a medical establishment lacking the will to properly investigate it, and resistance from an "ibogaine underground" that is making money by offering the drug as a miracle cure.

"Somewhere between true belief and a chance to make a quick buck are individuals who can come to harm," Mash says. Mash is now researching ibogaine at a treatment centre in the Caribbean.

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© The Vancouver Province 2008

COMMENTS ON THIS STORY

Charleton Quack
Mon, Apr 21, 08 at 10:17 AM
What a money making gimic ! Question is what number of ' patients ' ,or more to the point ' daytrippers ' , have partial or 100% financial aid via personal health care plans or BCMSP? Just another person getting rich off the misery of others. If it isn't a cure then what are they offering ? Those addicted to drugs know they are addicted. As to why they are addicted takes months of counselling provided by a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist. Free injection sites are just as phony. They enable the addict to stay addicted while staying immune from prosecution. So where's the incentive to kick the habit ? It's all ' new age ' fakery ! So called ' legitimate health care providers ' getting rich off of the misery of others just like the pushers that sell the illegal drugs. Can all these phony ' alternative ' treatment centres. Stick the addicts in jail and dry them out ! The longer they stay on the street the more the average citizen suffers from the addicts thievery, robbery and mugging to support their habit. Why should joe public have to suffer the theft of vehicles, etc. so that the addict can go buy illegal drugs and then shoot up at a taxpayer funded ' cop free ' zone with impunity ? It's all bogus !

DJD
Mon, Apr 21, 08 at 11:20 AM
Oh wow,man.....this detox is,like,great,man..I'm kicking a $200 a day habit for a $1000 a day habit,man....who says drugs mess you up....

D. Talks
Mon, Apr 21, 08 at 11:31 AM
I work in the area of addictions and I can tell you that everyone person going into detox has a standing order from a physician for drugs. One could argue necessity in the case of long-time hardcore alcoholics drying out but people who could otherwise kick heroin are left strung out on methadone for years. No small number of people going through so-called detox end up with a new "addiction" to the sleeping meds they've been prescribed and in the end we have so many repeat clients that estimated recovery rates hover in the 1 or 2% range. Clearly medical detox as practiced currently is not working. The public needs to know that the people who quit drugs or booze with the highest success rate are those who quit on their own, usually with support from their family or friends. The big problem is that this area has been co-opted by docs and shrinks who are making as big a killing as the damn drug pushers. But about ibogaine: as opposed as I am to the idea of substituting one drug for another as a supposed cure, I'd like to see what the recovery rates are. I know LSD was used back in the day to "treat" alcoholism, though recovery figures are not something I have at hand. Bottom line, if it shows promise, it should be investigated. But it would probably be a good idea to keep the docs out of it.

cam
Mon, Apr 21, 08 at 11:48 AM
Ibogaine's success rate is extremely high. I believe I've read that about 70% of patients overcome their opioid addiction without relapse, which is an extremely high percentage in comparison to other therapies. Ibogaine's success is two-fold: 1) it interrupts addiction to opioids and alleviates symptoms of withdrawal and 2) it compels patients to take a mental journey to confront the psychological causes of their addiction. Those addicted to drugs know that they are addicted, but ibogaine, if used therapeutically, can show a person WHY they are addicted to drugs, which is integral to changing one's behaviour.

other side
Mon, Apr 21, 08 at 11:53 AM
charleton quack,i'll bet you've never had a family member addicted to drugs.if it was as easy to quit as you make it seem,then every addict would.think people want to live in bug infested rooming houses on east hastings?sell their bodies to scumbag predators just to get high?where do you want your tax dollars going,to help people with problems,or to build a highway so rich people can cut 10 minutes off their drive to whistler?the world is full of people like you,who have no compassion for anyone worse off than them.you'd probably call yourself an alpha personality,i'd call you something else beginning with a......

NADINE
Mon, Apr 21, 08 at 01:17 PM
WHOW! THIS TYPE OF METHOD IS HARDCORE, BUT SEEMS AS THOUGH IT ACTUALLY WORKS. BUT I SURE WOULD NOT WANNA GO TO HELL & BACK 1,000 TIMES.

freefallcrusader
Mon, Apr 21, 08 at 01:24 PM
I'm surprised that Vancouver Coastal Health Authorities were not aware of the existence of the ibogaine treatment. As a parent, I have looked at numerous ways to help one of my son's who is a drug addict, including the ibogaine treatment that I heard of 'several years ago.' Sadly, this means someone at VCHA is not up to par on treatments, which also means that "people that need help" are not being referred or told about these options. What too many 'NIMBY's" fail to acknowledge is that turning their backs on these unfortunate people will cost society far more if we do not help them by providing multiple options in treatment and harm reduction. BTW - I would have grabbed at the chance for my son to try the ibogaine treatment if I had the money. Unfortunately too many treatments are NOT options for many people because of the money they cost, and we remain a society with drug addiction problems.

stephen
Mon, Apr 21, 08 at 01:34 PM
please do your research on the history of ibogaine before commenting. lotsof did the initial research, but mash is trying to discredit him. ibogaine suppression is happening again. most of the links off his wikipedia entry have expired hosts. meanwhile mash is in the caribbeans doing ibogaine research. i wonder if there are ties between mash and the rockefellers, since methadone profits that financial empire.

johngalt
Mon, Apr 21, 08 at 01:43 PM
I would have some concerns with the "confront your psychological issues" while under a powerful hallucinogen. It is hard enough, and unsettling, for a healthy individual to deal with personal issues, let alone an addict whose issues are probably a bit more profound. I would be fearful that the "cure" may create some long lasting, hidden neurosis due to the violent, powerful nature of the hallucinations.

DJD
Mon, Apr 21, 08 at 01:43 PM
Excuse my first post...ths is for "Other Side".Having a brother who died from an addiction and having survived a minor bout,myself, I DO knpw WTF I'm talking about. You cannot "help" someone who DOES NOT want to help themselves...it just won't work.Safe injection sites,free needles and all the rest of that B******T is just a feel-good enabler from the do-gooders.Bottom line?....they DO want to live in bug infested rooms and sell their bodies unless someoe is sitting on top of them and forcing drugs into their wing.....

Citizen Sane
Mon, Apr 21, 08 at 01:50 PM
This would have been an interesting story had the reporter interviewed a few people who had completed the program and provided more background on the drug's uses. As is, it seems like a media prod to be outraged.

Charleston cracker
Mon, Apr 21, 08 at 02:19 PM
Free injection sites reduce the spread of HIV, hep and all the other diseases they have. They also provide a place for these people to learn about detoxing and going to a recovery setting. Many do, it works, that's why even this moronic stephen harper government has let it continue. You think if it wasn't working he wouldn't have got on his soapbox, combed his hair for 4 hours and called a news conference in Washington to let everybody know that he's "Shut 'er down" in his best BIG DADDY DUBYA voice?

Charleton Quack
Mon, Apr 21, 08 at 02:39 PM
To other side: People get addicted to and remain addicted to drugs at their own peril and by their own hands. You bleeding heart types make me barf ! Comparing highways to addicts ? You really are from some other side ! I come from a long line of hard core pot smoking, alcoholic, cigarette smokers. And don't tell me they're not addictions. They're the worst kind of addictions because they are socially acceptable habits and legal addictions. I escaped while my father and brothers kept the family tradition alive and well. I chose to quit smoking pot and cigarettes and drinking at an early age despite all the influences around me. I chose to leave a life of squalor and misery without any assistance from anyone. No doctors, no family and no government agencies. I broke the chain and my family ostracised me for it. So to h*** with you, all those druggies and the people who are using the public's tax dollars to ' understand ' them. They don't want our understanding they only want another fix. As D.Talks says above the highest success rate amongst people who quit drugs or booze are those that quit on their own. Once a person WANTS to quit they will. As long as they are content with their addictive life style and choices they will remain addicts. Period. I don't want to have my tax dollars supporting their bad choices any more. So go ahead and bleed , Other Side and the rest , you'll get no pity from me. Drug free work camps , without 'counsellors ' or any other government funded babysitters, on deserted islands in the Johnston Straight maybe , but no pity !!!!!

Robert Gillard
Mon, Apr 21, 08 at 03:25 PM
So...If Ibogaine is not a cure therefore it is useless? Well, that's like saying if a so and so medicine doesn't CURE , then it has no value. Many effective medicines and treatments do not cure a particular ailment, condition or disease but offer other "quality of life" options for people suffering from those conditions, which is of great value indeed. Ibogaine not only offers the two benefits already stated above (interrupts addiction, compels patients to take a (objective sic) mental journey to confront the psychological causes of their addiction.) but it can be extremely effective in eliminating the painful and often horrendous withdrawal symptoms accompanying cessation of opiates and other illicit and legal substances.

living proof
Mon, Apr 21, 08 at 05:11 PM
as a treatment option long suppressed and misrepresented, Ibogaine is not funded by health care in any respect. people pay out of pocket for treatment at this point and if you do the math, $4000 x 57 clients in 3 years is actually not alot of money for a small business to operate on. and actually it was begun at around $2500. Iboga is not something people get addicted to. as you may have read, the side effects can be scary. and dangerous. but the outcome is phenomenal. I speak from experience. It is used by the largest growing religion in Africa and has potential for helping people to examine their lives and the way they act in the world. It is actually NOT an hallucinogenic. this is misleading terminology. It is far more complex and might be considered an onerophrenic. It allows you to look at you own personal memories and potential, not just see induced colourful geometrics and this people often think of as 'hell' Pharmaceuticals and other big business (get people out of the drug trade and many governments and corporations stand to lose big) have been trying to supress this information for decades and Canada is in the rare position to provide crutial proof of its validity in treating addictions (many are prescribed opiates not street drugs always) It is up to the Individual to choose their path and Ibogaine is part of it for some of us. D'ont shut it down!

Rhiannon
Mon, Apr 21, 08 at 06:24 PM
I am grateful for the thoughtful and researched position of poster CAM. Thank you for your comments. I was dismayed to see that the article did not mention the fact you brought up that Ibogaine treatments allow opiate addicts to more easily get over their difficult withdrawal period. Ibogaine can essentially be like hitting the "reset" button for many addicts. The Harm Reduction coalition in 1991 performed more than 3 dozen human case studies, finding an overall 40% single dose success rate, and even higher successful results with subsequent treatments. When Marc Emery ran his free Iboga Therapy House, he boasted a 50% success rate of ending addictions (especially opiate) altogether. Ibogaine shows great potential as a tool for successfully treating addiction. Also, in response to DJD, Ibogaine is not switching one habit for another, and it is certainly not a "$1000 dollar a day habit". Ibogaine is used ONCE, effectively STOPPING DRUG USE ALTOGETHER in a large amount of patients, if additional treatments are needed, they are typically months apart. A little research will tell you all you need to know.

haldente
Mon, Apr 21, 08 at 07:07 PM
I know it sounds flaky. But Iboga is the real deal. This article is limited in scope and doesn't cover the issue. I hope the Province does a special on it soon. It would be very timely. Addiction is a chemical problem. Not a failure of the will. The brain has become dependant on foreign chemicals to function. Counseling is important and may help but it is no cure. Modern medicine has little of value to offer for long term treatment. Just take a look at the failure rate. The Iboga experience and counseling are important, but there is something else going on. Something chemical in the brain. It's not fully understood but is being researched. The trick is that it actually stops the cravings for illegal drugs. And the effect is lasting. A month or two at least. The story behind it and ongoing research is fascinating. Start with a Google search. If you don't believe me just take a look at the research that big pharma is doing. They are investigating - guess what? Iboga. They want to see if they can develop a patentable molecule from it to treat drugs addiction. If they had something good now they would already be selling it. God knows it's needed. Many addicts want to quit. They are eventually defeated by a combination of cravings and feeling sick. They need street drugs just to function at all. Iboga may well contain the magic bullet that defeats the cravings, and allow recovery. Chemical problem, chemical solution. Remember, many useful drugs today are formulated from natural compounds, like Aspirin for example. Better living through chemistry. Mother nature's chemistry!

Thingz
Mon, Apr 21, 08 at 10:09 PM
Quack, You are a quack. I challenge you to actually look at the research done on Insite and ibogaine therapy. All research points to these being beneficial to society as a whole. The cost of dealing with addicts through the judiciary, medical, and enforcement is exorbitant compared to supportive housing, harm reduction, education and treatment. Ibogaine offers another method and needs to be supported with government money so that the average addict on East Hastings can use this therapy. And for the record the drug use in the downtown eastside probably represents 10 to 15 percent of all drug use within Vancouver. There are many affluent people who work within prominent positions that need addiction treatment and can afford this treatment.

Leah Martin
Mon, Apr 21, 08 at 10:30 PM
Perhaps one thing we could all agree on, no what the personal bias may be, is that addiction is a very complex phenomenon involving many factors related to one's genetic, social/familial, and bio-physiological history. Not even those who have invested themeslves for years in this field can accurately say what the "cure" is. And might I say, the reference to "cure" in addiction is quite offensive, as not all professionals agree with the disease model. I believe this article is an important one in opening up public dialogue concerning substance use. What is the 'right' price to pay to attempt to pull yourself out of the depths of addiction? The Orchard Recovery and Treatment Center on Bowen Island charges up to $18,000 for a 42 day in patient treatment. Though The Orchard may be licensed, I can personally say that the Iboga Therapy House has a strict moral to consult with personal colleagues who are working within the BC Addictions, Center For Addictions Research institutions, as well as law consultations when confronted with a safety issues in regards to the implementation of the therapy. As the data intake coordinator for the one year observational study on the efficacy of ibogaine assisted detox and, as of 3 years ago, a former employee of Marc Emery's supported therapy program, I can report that all of our methods were compiled by a seperate body of professionals. I can also say that our methods have been approved by an Institutional Review Board here in Canada. The evolution into a society was one of a natural progression as the anecdotal accounts of the succes of ibogaine assisted detox were too great to ignore. This is what MAPS, the funding organization, sought when designing the study. A document entitled 'Nothing About Us, Without Us', created by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network in partnership with the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU), CACTUS Montréal, and the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS recognizes the learning importance behind involving the drug user opinion in addressing addictions treatment/policy application. If the scientific community actually took the time to investigate the claims by users who have had success with this form of therapy (though there are scientists who have, thank you to those pioneers!), and the "ibogaine underground" community, they would also learn that their end goals are actually one in the same; to develop something which has been reported to be effective.

Timothy L.
Mon, Apr 21, 08 at 11:19 PM
LSD will allow the same addiction introspection without all the vomiting and other nasty side effects of ibogaine but of course the pitiful exchange of pieties that passes for leadership has seen to it's illegality.

Phil Adams
Mon, Apr 21, 08 at 11:39 PM
I understand Cold Turkey is often a mirage seldom reached by most addicts, but If I had the mandate and money available to invest in a probable detox cure for opiates I would sooner bet it on a conotoxin derivative. Replacing painfull physical withdrawl from opium addiction with a promising non-addictive painkiller such as can apparently now be acquired from conotoxin makes more sense than subjecting a patient to a punishing psychedelic, zombification style nightmarish ordeal. If one enjoys the outcome of such a grueling mental journey and it works, that's fabulous, my few voluntary and involuntary experiences using similar psychoactive hallucinogenics suggest that isn't often the result.

jiminy cricket
Tue, Apr 22, 08 at 01:42 AM
this sounds like a breath of fresh air . why not... its cheap and nothing is working

plant alkaloids are potent drugs
Tue, Apr 22, 08 at 08:16 AM
Plant alkaloids are potent drugs. The misconception that is things comes from plants they are not 'drugs' or medicines is hilarious! Popular media has dumbed people down. Most medicine/drugs are plant derivatives or synthesized from plant parent compounds. Furthermore, if anything is made up of atoms/electron/quarks, etc it is still NATURAL isn't it?? Duh! Any foreign substance ingested that alters human physiology is a drug/medication..........except for things we consider foods.........so wake up dodo-head!

Adrian B.
Tue, Apr 22, 08 at 06:26 PM
Well, now I dont have anything new to say now that CAM, Robert Gillard & Leah Martin already stated the must knowfacts about Ibogaine & The Iboga Therapy House. I can say that I have done much studies (books, online, conferences) on this subject & have talked to many of people benefiting from this Ibogaine treatment! It changes lives & is a very effective alternative treatment to get off hard drugs, alcohol & methadone. Deeply carthatic & often very meaningful dream like visions of childhood/family/friends & this world that leaves the user most often revitalized & goal oriented towards staying clean. Very few people have those "hell a 1000 times" visit. Ibogaine takes away withdrawal symptoms for most users which in itself is miraculous if you ask me. that said, it is not a toted as a "miracle" cure because nothing is gauranteed. The most important part for drug users to integrate the big change & be drug-free is to have a support for after the detox (friends, family, job) & the strong determination to be healthy again! And yes, this is a one or two time treatment & not a $1000 day habit, but a detox program that could save a user many thousands of dollars in the long run! And most definitely not a place raking in profits as I know it to be run on a shoestring & very fair in the current price of the program! I cant wait for the day that Health Canada recognizes the benefits of Ibogaine & it can be offered for lower prices to larger masses of people, but until then this is what we got & I am very excited about the future potential of this movement!

Mandy Reid
Wed, Apr 23, 08 at 11:04 AM
I am the Registered Nurse who has been working at the clinic since September 2006. I can say from experience that I have personally watched many people find immense relief from the physical pain of withdrawal from a variety of substances. I have supported people in their detoxification process and try to purge an addiction that has been feeding off of them for years. We do not pretend that this is a 'miracle cure', as our program is focused on harm reduction and allowing people to gain a fresh perspective on the roots of their addictions and behaviour patterns.. I found it interesting that you only used one quote from someone who had an experience with Ibogaine. I can tell you from talking to people afterwards that each experience is different. Many of them are profound, life-changing, and sometimes ecstatic, sometimes very subtle. From the outside perspective, the meaning someone attributes to their experience might sound strange or obscure. It is not up to us to interpret what each person's experience means, but rather keep them in physical comfort and safety during their experience and to provide supportive, non directive counsel and activities that assist in reintegration afterwards. You mentioned that Ibogaine can cause heart and liver problems. Where did you get this information from? As far as we know, it does not and used properly is non-toxic. The reason why we screen people meticulously before they come to us for therapy is because complications could potentially arise in people with certain pre-existing heart or liver problems. Our screening process is so thorough that we have never had any health or medical issues with any of our clients during or after therapy. Before we administer Ibogaine, I take initial baselines of their vital signs and administer a test dose in order to monitor for possible complications. Never have we progressed with a therapy if anything unusual comes up during the test period. At least two or three times per hour during their experience I take their blood pressure, listen to their breathing, note their pulse, oxygen saturation and record this data and anything that is relevant (including what they say or report) in their treatment notes. Some people experience nausea at one or two points during the night; many do not and simply need help to the bathroom or taking sips of water along the way. Although our program is new, we believe the data we are collecting can demonstrate how effective Ibogaine is at reducing cravings and physical withdrawal symptoms in people with substance dependence. When I compare this with my work in a hospital where withdrawals are treated with Valium and other pharmaceuticals, I see firsthand the difference between the two approaches. The way we treat addictions in hospitals and other institutions might be considered 'safe' because the emergency room is just around the corner (rather than 5 minutes away for us), but I see how our 'band-aid' solutions only prolong the addiction or change it from one substance to other potentially harmful and addictive pharmaceutical substances (such as Methadone). There is no reason to believe that Ibogaine can be harmful unless it is being administered irresponsibly. As a Registered Nurse, I am impressed and very confident in the groundwork that Sandra Karpetas and others have put into the program to ensure its safety and accessibility for people who are looking for more effective options for liberation from substance dependence.

Sandra Karpetas
Wed, Apr 23, 08 at 04:28 PM
At the Iboga Therapy House we have always welcomed the opportunity to have representatives from Vancouver Coastal Health come and visit (or inspect) our facility. We have never hid what we do and in actuality have actively sought communication with various groups and individuals who work in the addictions community. It is one of our goals as a non-profit society to bring legitimacy and credibility to the field of ibogaine therapy. Therefore, I was quite shocked to see the headline of this article, as it almost seems as though we have been trying to hide something or that we are doing something wrong when in fact we really need all the help we can get to keep our financially struggling program alive. Our discussions with the licensing departments of VCH have made clear that we cannot be granted a license until we offer therapy to 3 or more people at a time. This is unfortunate, because we feel that it is the highly individualized approach that makes this program special. Many forms of alternative options are needed because it is clear that what is available is either not enough, not accessible, not appropriate or not effective for some drug users who seek recovery. Every individual is unique and faces different circumstances; therefore, a well-rounded treatment system should offer varying options for those people. It was also interesting to see ibogaine described in the article as a "hallucinogenic drug". Ibogaine is more appropriately considered an oneirogenic herbal substance that induces a dream-like experience and not as a "hallucinogen". In the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, an article on ibogaine written by Dr. Kenneth Alper of the New York School of Medicine, states that: "The phenomenology of the subjective state produced by ibogaine has been attributed with the quality of a "waking dream" and distinguished from the state associated with classical hallucinogens (Goutarel et al., 1993; Lotsof and Alexander, 2001). The visual phenomena associated with ibogaine tend to occur with greatest intensity with the eyes closed, and to be suppressed with the eyes open, and often involve a sense of location within an internally represented visual or dream landscape, in contrast to an alteration of the visual environment experienced with the eyes open while awake which is often reported with classical hallucinogens." Ibogaine also acts on very different neurotransmitter sites than what are commonly referred to as hallucinogens and therefore should not be classified as such. Everyone's experience is unique. We have not had any reports of people having difficult experiences that were nightmarish such as the one described in the quote from the Journal of the American Medical Association. We believe that setting, personal preparation and willingness to face one's issues will best facilitate an experience that may offer insight and healing. Perhaps the cold, unfeeling and stark clinical model espoused by uncompassionate scientists helps to facilitate experiences of fear. We do our best to not only inform and prepare the individual but also create a setting that is welcoming, warm, compassionate and safe. In fact, that is one of our greatest functions as support persons; to facilitate a potentially healing experience in any way that we can, whilst always respecting the individual, their past choices and their personal boundaries. People have often mentioned how comfortable they feel with us and what a contrast it is from other detox facilities they have been to. I am amazed that the few detox facilities that are publicly available and funded are often described as uncomfortable, dirty and cold-feeling. Places like these do not facilitate healing even though that is what they are supposed to be - a place for recovery, personal reflection and healing. Many thanks to everyone who has posted comments or phoned us over the last few days, this has been a great opportunity for learning and for improving our communication about what we do. Sandra Karpetas Program Director Iboga Therapy House .

Matthew Shriver
Thu, Apr 24, 08 at 08:14 PM
It's interesting to see the direction of the comments on this story. the story itself is fairly typical sensationalist journalism, pandering to the knee jerk outrage that the media-brainwashed will no doubt feel and low in any real substance. Some of the first comments posted were I think representative of those media-brainwashed types. Addiction is by definition something that is beyond the control of will, it is well past time the old lie that addiction is a problem of lack of will power was quashed. At the same time, western society is very much geared toward creating addiction with pills for everything and the constant message that you in and of yourself are not enough but that if you just consume this, or purchase that, or chase this other thing about yourself that you will then be enough. As has been pointed out in this thread, addiction is a result of brain chemistry. As someone who started addicted to alcohol, all quite socially acceptable and legal, accepting that I was 11 when my addiction started, and eventually progressed to heroin and finally to methadone, again totally legal. I can tell you that ibogaine works first hand. I used ibogaine to get off of methadone almost 5 years ago now and have never returned to any of the substances I was once a slave to, a rather lengthy list. Even nicotine, yet another completely legal addiction. Ibogaine is for real a very effective treatment for addiction whereas many of the more traditional methods have abysmal success rates. And as for the difficulty of the experience, yes it is in truth very difficult, but it is difficult in the same way that therapy is difficult. It is not always so easy to look at oneself honestly and begin to take responsibility for all that one is, both good and bad. The commentors at the top of this thread would have done well to find out about what they were talking about prior to posting although considering the quality of reporting in the article itself they cannot be totally blamed for their ignorance.

One who loves life
Sun, Apr 27, 08 at 03:36 AM
Matthew Shriver...I'd simply like to take your thread of thought slightly further and suppose (not that this is what you were leading to) , but that it may have been this journalists addiction to money and a materialistic lifestyle that caused the journalist to submit an article that was of sensational nature in order to get the paycheck. It is all to easy in this day in age to be quick to point out the negative before trying to understand the positive. As we all know, people will jump att he opportunity to spread "gossip".

Lisa Milsom
Mon, Apr 28, 08 at 04:14 PM
WoW! what a sensationalized article for an amazing service. "Hell and Back 1000 times" is NOT apparently what the average iboga patient feels; were the rates charged by iVeda mentioned? (he uses a sliding rate); no one noticed that another provider is a former therapy user? (what an amazing recommendation for iboga!). after watching family members die from addictions and related lifestyle "choices", the only "quacks" are the doctors who sit on their asses, telling patients that they should come back next month for treatment, put on some clean clothes and get a job, stop being so weak. Addictions affect all of us, and knowing that there are viable treatments available, without 6 month waiting lists, where theyre being run by people who care about your success, rather than the government sponsered "clinics" that only cater to a certain type of client in an area, or are too expensive for the average person to pay for ($4900 is a bargain compared to some detox clinics, $25,000 is a lot to pay for a bed and water!) i know if my brother was still alive today, my parents would send him for experimental treatment in a heartbeat, rather than watch him die again. Don't just take it from this article, either! read up on iboga before you stand by an ignorant judgement. This stuff saves lives, and helps clients to rebuild theirs back, too.

mental health pro
Wed, May 14, 08 at 11:07 AM
The clinical validity of profoundly altered states of consciousness in the treatment of numerous psychiatric disorders has long been established when using the available legal means to access them. This should be the discussion, Establishing for mainstream society that these luminous states of awareness are not hallucinogentic, but that we are capable of many types of seeing and knowing that is not limited to just our commonly accepted five physical senses. The use of entheogenic substances was a part of early mystical christianity, early yoga practices and they are still a part of many other spiritual traditions today. Lets bring some real research into the use of luminous sates of consciousness for benefitting humanity.

living proof 2
Sun, Oct 26, 08 at 08:28 PM
i have been completely clean after being treated at the iboga therapy house thirteen and a half months ago i was on deaths door I have the beautiful people there to and this amazing plant to thank please do not speak about things of that you havn't experienced it comes off as small minded and judgmental this stuff works trust me I wouldn't be here if it didn't the staff nurse and counselors at ITH are some of the most beautiful people I have ever had the pleasure to meet I was required to have a therapist and approved support network before the ceremony was approved as well as extensive medical tests reviewed by the nurse on staff please don,t say bad things about beautiful people you know nothing about Oh yeah i went from being a full blown polysubstance addict to having no cravings after one treatment there may be more than one road home try to keep an open mind and let everyone pursue the path they choose.Thanks again Its B here I love you guys