Ibogaine Project has Sixth Subject, Funding is Still Needed.
At the beginning of 2009, the sixth subject was enrolled in the MAPS-sponsored ibogaine outcome study taking place at the Pangaea Biomedics treatment center in Playas de Tijuana, Mexico. The principle investigator is John Harrison PsyD Candidate. Our goal is to evaluate 30 patients on a monthly basis for a full year after treatment with ibogaine for opiate addiction. We are very pleased with the rapid enrollment of subjects.
This will become the first such study ever conducted into the long-term outcomes of ibogaine in the treatment of opiate addiction. Ibogaine has been touted for several decades to have sometimes-miraculous abilities to set opiate and other addicts free from their addictions, but there still have been no prospective studies published looking at long-term outcomes. Depending on the results, this study could help give legitimacy to the now alternative treatment found outside of the US, or underground within the US. MAPS had previously started an ibogaine outcome study in Canada but that study ended early after the Iboga Therapy House at which the study took place closed for financial reasons.
We are still seeking restricted donations for this project. We ask the MAPS community to help us find people who would like to support this research by making donations restricted to the project. The project is estimated to cost $30,000 for 30 subjects, all of which remains to be raised. At a cost of $1000 per subject, this is an extremely cost-effective study. The cost is so low since this is an observational study of subjects who are paying for their own treatment, rather than a MAPS-sponsored controlled clinical trial in which MAPS would need to cover all expenses of the treatment as well as the evaluation.