On Monday, May 12th, the six O'Clock Show at the International Harm Reduction Conference in Barcelona hosted a ‘User’s Choice’ session on Ibogaine, supported by INPUD. The filmed and edited session is available, in four parts, below. It is worth your time!
The Wikipedia article on Ibogaine:
"Ibogaine is a naturally-occurring psychoactive compound found in a number of plants in nature, principally in a member of the dogbane family known as iboga (Tabernanthe iboga). Ibogaine-containing preparations are used in medicinal and ritual purposes by African spiritual traditions of the Bwiti who claim to have learned it from the Pygmy. In recent times it has been identified as having anti-addictive properties.
In the early 1960s, ibogaine was accidentally discovered to cause sudden and complete interruption of heroin addiction without withdrawal in a matter of hours. Since that time it has been the subject of scientific investigation into its abilities to interrupt addictions to heroin, alcohol, and cocaine. Anecdotal reports also suggest that ibogaine may have potential to drive introspection that helps elucidate the psychological issues and behavior patterns that drive addiction or other problems. However, ibogaine therapy for drug addiction is the subject of some controversy. Due to its hallucinogenic properties as well as risks for patients with certain health problems, it has been placed in the strictest drug prohibition schedules in the United States and a handful of other countries.
While ibogaine's prohibition has slowed scientific research into ibogaine's anti-addictive properties, the use of ibogaine for drug treatment has grown in the form of a large worldwide medical subculture. Ibogaine is now used by treatment clinics in 12 countries on 6 continents to treat addictions to heroin, alcohol, powder cocaine, crack cocaine, and methamphetamine as well as to facilitate psychological introspection and spiritual exploration."
At the Ibogaine Session of the International Harm Reduction Conference in Barcelona 2008, the presenters spoke on the following topics:
The first presenter was Howard Lotsof, who discovered the anti-addictive effects of ibogaine in 1962. He spoke on the historical and future perspectives of ibogaine treatment. You can watch the full length presentation here:
The second presenter, Dr. Alex Wodak, is the Director of the Alcohol and Drug Service at St. Vincent's Hospital in Darlinghurst, the president of the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation and the president of the International Harm Reduction Association. He spoke about the lack of evidence for Ibogaine as a treatment for heroin dependence. Watch the full length presentation here:
The third presenter, Clare Wilkins, an ex-methadone patient, is currently the director of the Ibogaine Association. The presentation was about the Ibogaine Treatment House located in Tijuana, Mexico and was prepared by Wilkins and Dr. Alonso Perez, who could not attend the conference. Watch the full presentation here:
The last presenter was Dimitri Mugianis, a user activist (VOCAL NY) with personal experiences with ibogain. He gave interesting insight into ibogaine treatment and drug user activism. Mugianis is also the lead singer of the band Leisure Class. Watch his presentation here:
István Gábor Takács
HCLU