Ibogaine Is Effective For Opiate Addiction?
Many people are curious about ibogaine. But, before they seriously consider doing a treatment, they want an answer to one very important question – Ibogaine Is Effective For Opiate Addiction? Our answer at New Roots is a resounding YES! And, now there is even more research available to back our claim.
A couple of years ago, two studies (one in New Zealand and one in Mexico) were sponsored by the Multidisciplinary Approach to Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). The results were published in 2017 in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse in a peer-reviewed article. The article, entitled, “Treatment of opioid use disorder with ibogaine: detoxification and drug use outcomes” was co-authored by Thomas Kingsley Brown, Ph.D. (University of California, San Diego) and Kenneth Alper, Ph.D. (New York University School of Medicine). Their credentials speak for themselves.
This article reveals that an ibogaine treatment can effectively treat opiate addiction and almost completely eliminate withdrawal symptoms and cravings. The findings revealed that those who take this plant medicine are able to stop the cycle of addiction and get on with their lives.
What The Research Says About Ibogaine Treatment
According to MAPS, the New Zealand study showed that “a single ibogaine treatment could reduce opioid withdrawal symptoms and achieve either cessation from opioids or sustained, reduced use for up to 12 months following treatment. The results indicate that ibogaine may have a significant pharmacological effect on opiate withdrawal.”
In the Mexico study, “12 out of 30 participants reported 75 percent reductions in their drug use 30 days following treatment, and 33 percent reported no opioid use three months later.” This is a much higher success rate than traditional addiction treatment methods like rehab and Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT).
The Importance of Promoting Research That Supports Ibogaine Treatment
One of the things we struggle with is convincing potential patients about the fact that ibogaine works for people who want to break the chains of addiction. This is because there is simply not enough research available on this topic.
Plus, most people are accustomed to “traditional” addiction treatment approaches and can be wary of our “alternative” method. We look forward to the day that this plant medicine becomes more mainstream and people accept it a proven way to stop the devastating cycle of addiction.
This is why the research we are sharing with you is of such importance. We don’t just want you to take our word for it – we want you to KNOW that an ibogaine treatment can change your life. The research available on this topic shows that this plant medicine works.
Why Is There So Little Research on Ibogaine Treatment?
Many people are not aware that most of the funding made available for addiction treatment research in the United States comes from pharmaceutical companies. There is a strong effort to prove that opioid replacement drugs like Suboxone work because they represent significant revenue for these companies.
Meanwhile, there is not a lot of money to be made with ibogaine treatment. In most cases, one treatment works – although there are times when more than one is needed. Generally, there is not a need for repeat visits. This is not true of Methadone, Suboxone, or Subutex. These opioid replacement drugs make up a multi-billion-dollar industry in the United States because they require continual, ongoing treatments.
At New Roots, we work hard to stay on top of the latest ibogaine research so we can share it with potential patients. We want you to trust our process. We truly have your best interest in mind. We know how destructive addiction can be and we want you to find freedom from substance abuse.
The Mystical and Spiritual Aspect of An Ibogaine Treatment
We gave you the results of the study published in 2017. But, what is often lost in the statistics is the mystical side of this plant medicine – the side that’s harder to quantify with numbers.
We know that ibogaine works to treat addiction, resetting the neurons to baseline. When the treatment is over, the patient is no longer in opiate withdrawal mode, and no longer craves the stuff. But there’s another side to the medicine — the psychological side, the hallucinations — which can show you why you started to use in the first place.
What The Experts Say About Ibogaine
“Ibogaine’s value is not only the interruption of opiate withdrawal but, by mechanisms not fully understood, to assist the patient in changing learned behavior and becoming more aware of their behavior in order to change it,” said Howard Lotsof and Boaz Wachtel in their Manual for Ibogaine Therapy. “After ibogaine therapy, many patients become more agreeable to change.”
At the 2017 Psychedelic Science Conference in Oakland, Thomas Kingsley Brown, PhD, who ran the Mexico study on Ibogaine, gave a talk in which he discussed the more metaphysical aspects of the ibogaine experience, which can be just as important as the physiological effects.
He explained that a large percentage of patients reported seeing visions of what their lives would look like if they continued using heroin. The visions were extremely detailed and realistic, based on the current conditions of the patients’ lives. In addition to seeing the painful paths their lives would follow were they to continue using, the patients reported having mystical visions as well.
Many “sense that someone is watching over them or that everything is going to be okay, and that they are on their way to health,” said Brown.
Just as importantly, others reported healing damaging relationships with their family members, seeing clearly, at last, the pain they had caused others or being freed from painful familial patterns.
Still Have Questions About What to Expect From an Ibogaine Treatment?
New Root is an integrated clinic dedicated to healing severe addictions from hard drugs like heroin, cocaine, alcohol, prescription painkillers, and methamphetamines. Ibogaine eliminates the pain of withdrawal. It also heals deep trauma, depression, eating disorders, and other life challenges.
Our treatment philosophy combines the best of Western treatment modalities with ancient healing techniques and traditional indigenous wisdom.
Want to learn more? Please call us at 1 (855) 513-3377. We are happy to answer all of your questions and tell you how this plant medicine can help you overcome your difficulties.
