NYU Conference on Ibogaine Nov 5-6, 1999

Claudio C. Naranjo's writings are the earliest to provide an interpretation of the psychodynamics of ibogaine. His work, particularly to ibogaine are found in the final chapter of his book, The Healing Journey, in his peer reviewed paper, Psychotherapeutic Possibilities of New Fantasy-Enhancing Drugs (Clinical Toxicology. 1[2]:209-294, June 1969) and in an international patent issued to D.P.M. Bocher and C. Naranjo (Brevet Spécial de Médicament. P.V. No. 138.081, No. 7131M. Class. Int. A 61k; Bulletin officiel de la Propriété industrielle [B.S.M.], No. 35 du 1er septembre 1969). Naranjo has worked with a broad spectrum of psychoactive substances including LSD, harmaline and MMDA. Comparisons of these in relation to ibogaine are also explored in his chapter.

For the last three years I have asked Dr. Naranjo to allow the publication of his chapter from the Healing Journey, "Ibogaine: Fantasy and Reality" on the Ibogaine Dossier. At last, in 2001, Naranjo agreed, provided he submit an Introduction to the chapter. Needless to say, I gladly accepted his introduction.

In 1987, NDA International, Inc., the corporation of which I was then President organized the First International Ibogaine Conference held in January in Paris. Attending the conference were esteemed members of the French scientific community including Robert Goutarel, one of the premiere chemists investigating the iboga alkaloids and Otto Gollnhofer an ethnologist who had studied among the Mitsogo Bwiti in Gabon. Three researchers who had investigated ibogaine's psychotherapeutic effects, myself, Dr. Leo Zeff also of the United States and Dr. Peter Baumann of Switzerland participated in the meeting. Questions were posed to Zeff, Baumann and myself, concerning Claudio Naranjo's work and his findings of rage being associated with ibogaine responses. Baumann and Zeff and I discussed this matter and our mutual experience was that we had not seen rage responses reported by Naranjo in our own work. Zeff, who knew Naranjo, thought for a moment and said, Claudio went for that. He kept after his patients until he obtained the rage response that he wanted. He was a Freudian. Taking Zeff's statements in perspective it must be remembered that psychiatry provides for individual techniques and skills. On my part, as it concerns patients who have been chemically dependent, the ease of handling these patients during ibogaine therapy free of rage or psychiatric complications is among the attributes that attracted myself and others to ibogaine's use in treating substance-related disorders. Setting this particular issue of Naranjo's research aside it must be noted that Naranjo was the first to compare the ibogaine experience with dreaming, the first to publish on its unique ability to allow patients to evaluate their early life experiences and to identify the nausea associated with the drug as movement related. That all being said, I present Claudio C. Naranjo, MD.