Iboga is a natural plant medicine that can halt addiction in its tracks and save lives. Iboga is reported to eliminate cravings and restore a sense of wholeness and purpose with just one treatment. Why is ibogaine illegal in the USA when we are in the grip of a deadly opioid epidemic with 179 or more lives lost daily? Why don’t more people know about iboga? These were the questions that motivated Lakshmi Narayan, founder of Awake Media, to join forces with Academy Award nominated filmmaker and social documentarian Eric Thiermann, founder of Impact Creative to launch a movie and a movement to spread the word and change the law.
The new film, Iboga Saves: Ending the Opiod Epidemic, will shine a light on the crisis of the prescription-induced addiction epidemic and the failure of the current system to address it—as well as the solution that Tabernathe iboga, the entheogenic root bark from Central Africa represents for healing. We will follow patients and practitioners at clinics around the world through their journey, from precare, to treatment with iboga, to integration. In addition to clinics, we will also be featuring the ceremonial/shamanic use of iboga from the traditional Bwiti ceremony to the modern western adaptation of that ritual. Their goal is to reframe and recontextualize addiction, iboga/ibogaine, and the entheogenic plant medicine category in general. Their goal is also to present the legal situation that surrounds iboga, both in terms of the scheduling, and in terms of the religious freedom laws, both in the U.S., and in places like Portugal and Canada where it is legal.
The movie, Root to Liberation, aims to shift the paradigm of what a psychedelic experience is, by recreating an iboga journey in 3D. Iboga is unlike other psychedelics in that it presents information on a literal screen in one’s mind, a tech metaphor that we are all too familiar with. By recreating the inner journey in the context of an opioid addict’s real-life transformation, we feel that we will be able to reveal through the narrative the spiritual dimension that iboga potentiates, which is the vital element for healing and reconciling the deep wounds and trauma that cause addiction. This film will help addicts in their daily dance with death understand what their real choices are. It will help people in the mainstream understand the issues and the importance of changing the law quickly. Their app, Reschedule Ibogaine, will allow them to gather signatures virally for a petition to change the U.S. law.
Their Iboga Directory already existing on awake.net will allow those who need treatment now to find clinics outside the USA. Their Iboga Saves social media campaign hosted on awake.net will begin during the month of November 2018 with articles, videos and interviews with experts and experiencers alike, so that anyone can get a comprehensive understanding of what iboga is and does. They are currently crowdfunding to raise $375,000 by Christmas 2018. Contrary to the usual movie crowdfunding pattern of raising funds bit by bit, they feel that time is truly of the essence here with so many people dying everyday of overdose, and they want to be able to get the app and movie made and distributed as soon as possible. The app budget is $10k and would take 2-3 months to produce and the movie would be a miracle if they could complete in 18 months, but that’s the goal. They don’t want to have to take timeout for crowdfunding again, hence the big push. Thank you for your support.
“In the midst of a crisis of opiate-related deaths and dependencies, it’s a tragedy that there is no federal or for-profit pharmaceutical funding for research into ibogaine which can help people through withdrawal and at the same time provide profound therapeutic/spiritual benefits. The next step for FDA-approved Ibogaine research is a roughly $2 million Phase 1/2 dose-response safety study, primarily focusing on heart function. As with research into MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD, research into ibogaine for opiate dependence can be a gift to the world from the psychedelic and cryptocurrency communities with some additional support from unexpected allies who will support the healing potential of psychedelics.” —MAPS Founder Rick Doblin, Ph.D.
If you’re not sure about donating but want to stay tuned and learn more sign up for the free Iboga Saves Blog during the month of November.