NYU Conference on Ibogaine Nov 5-6, 1999

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Some Considerations

The Ibogaine Dossier does not endorse any ibogaine treatment. More scientific research is needed before any conclusions about the validity of ibogaine treatment for drug dependence treatment can be made.

(Question and Answer by two Ibogaine Mailing List subscribers)

Question

He travels to Zaire or Kenya or someplace, and starts asking questions. Somebody leads him to a folk herbalist, who sells him some crap for a high price, and says it is iboga. He then checks into a dingy hotel and trips for a couple of days, missing some meals and maybe falling out of a second story window or being robbed by locals while he is helpless.

Might there be a more organized, safe and dependable way to know in advance what one is getting into with a minimum of the risks of being a stranger in a 3rd world town?

Reply

1. If you aren't careful to select a trustworthy and competent supplier, guide, or doctor, you could be ripped off, poisoned, abandoned, or abused. Of course.

2. What if you throw up the ibogaine, as so many do? What is your plan for that? Did you arrange for another dose, say, up the butt? :-) If you can't continue ibogaine treatment, or are unwilling to, did you decide beforehand how you would deal with withdrawal?

3. Psychedelics in general amplify what is already inside you, to make it easier to see. If you plan, that can be heavenly. If you don't plan, there is always that place one would not choose. Are you going to be full of anxiety and dread during treatment? The environment and people you are trusting will have an impact, and so will your attitude and beliefs.

4. After treatment, some people can't sleep for days. What then?

5. For treatment to be successful, the eventual return of craving needs to be anticipated, as well as the emergence of the challenges which prompted the addiction in the first place. Ibogaine reveals problems and gives another chance to take responsibility for them - it doesn't solve the problems, You do. There are people who can help with this planning.

6. Suppose ibogaine or iboga root falls into your hands. How would you measure it, to keep from taking too much? One big gulp? How would you measure your individual sensitivity? This is not a good situation for carelessness. Things feel a lot less casual when one is looking down at one's cold body. Get excellent advice.

7. Some people report difficulty breathing when well into the trip. It would be nice to have some reassurance at such a time that your breathing will not be allowed to cease, huh?

8. People's reactions to ibogaine vary. Some experience only mild psychological effects, and some have severe, prolonged reactions. Again, good can come out of a difficult experience with the right support available, and an awkward situation can be avoided by, for example, not expecting to return to work three days later. A lot of your experience depends on what you believe about yourself, sometimes without realizing it, and it can be a good opportunity to learn what you did not previously realize.

9. Many people read other people's trips and think they are wonderful, and expect to have a similar trip themselves. When that doesn't happen, they feel cheated or unworthy. Extravagant trips cry out to be shared, and dull ones say, Forget It. This is what I see others doing, and what I've seen myself do also. Behind every trip to the stars are ten trips to the land of disappointment. Don't expect anything - whatever you experience doesn't change the fact that you are lovable and worthwhile.

10. If you are in the United States, you could go to prison if you are found with ibogaine or T. iboga, unjust though that seems.

I'm sure there's a lot more potential problems, but these are the ones I can think of right now. Now that I look at them, it seems like they all revolve around asking for help from someone highly experienced and trustworthy, with resources, to provide treatment - with, say, 17 years of experience and a hospital at his disposal - or else taking the years necessary to become one yourself.