Ibogaine+as+Medicine

=**Ibogaine as Medicine** =

Despite many years of research it is still not clear as to how ibogaine affects addiction, in part because of a limited understanding of addiction. However in lab test with rats, there is substantial evidence that Ibogaine reduces self administration of addictive substances and evidence of opiate withdrawal symptoms. A single dose reduced cocaine intake by 40-60% for several days. While repeated ibogaine administration at one-week intervals produced a 60-80% decrease in cocaine self-administration which was sustained for several weeks. (Popik & Glick, 1996)

Ibogaine may be toxic to Purkinje cells in the rat cerebellum, but only with high doses(100mg/kg i.p.). There has been no neurotoxicity or physical toxicity found at therapeutic doses(40mg/kg i.p.) or with chronic use(10 mg/kg for 30 days or 40 mg/kg for 12 days, i.p.) and even at much lower doses ( 2.5mg/kg i.p.) there are behavioural effects present. (Popik & Glick, 1996)

With human subjects, Ibogaine or the total iboga extract (4-5 mg/kg) given orally, elicits subjective reactions which last for approximately 6 hours. Fifty percent of subjects are reported to experience dizziness, incoordination, nausea, and vomiting. Typically in these studies, the drug elicited a state of drowsiness in which the subject did not want to move, open the eyes, or attend to the environment. Because of a low risk therapeutic index, this drug has great potential for treating addictions. (Popik & Glick, 1996)

The following video documents the treatment of a heroin addict over a few days:

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