What if the only thing that stood in the way of optimal personal and spiritual development and renewal was a trip to Rosarito Beach, Mexico, and a single dose of a potent psychedelic drug? Ibogaine is one such drug.
Spiritual guides and researchers have been studying the effectiveness of ibogaine therapy as a catalyst for meaningful and effective personal growth and development and as a tool to help overcome the ravages of harmful past experiences.
What is Ibogaine?
Ibogaine is a naturally occurring psychoactive compound that is extracted from a variety of plant sources, most notably the Tabernanthe iboga. Iboga has been used in low doses for centuries to combat fatigue and hunger and in higher doses for healing and ceremonial purposes in West Central Africa.
Current Drug Abuse Reviews reported that iboga was first introduced to Western cultures in 1864.
The alkaloid we now know as ibogaine was first crystallized from extracts of the plant’s bark in 1900. Its pharmacological properties were subsequently explored.
Ibogaine was marketed in France from 1939 to 1970 to treat conditions such as depression, fatigue, and infectious disease.
Ibogaine, Psychotherapy, and Personal and Spiritual Growth
As Current Drug Abuse Reviews reported, ibogaine “[has] been used as an adjunct to psychotherapy as early as the 1950s.” Additionally, in recent decades ibogaine has been the subject of numerous clinical research studies that investigated its efficacy for the treatment of addiction to opiates and other substances.
In the late 1950s through the 1960s, psychiatrists and psychotherapists worked with a variety of psychedelic substances like ibogaine the help their patients retrieve personal memories and fantasies. This retrieval helped them facilitate the closure of previously unresolved conflicts.
The discovery of many of ibogaine’s properties is attributed to American scientific researcher Howard Lotsof. At that time he organized a group that met in New York City to study the effects and possible psychotherapeutic benefits of a variety of psychoactive drugs.
Lotsof and other members of the group ingested ibogaine as part of that study conducted in 1962. Lotsof reported in the aftermath of his 30-hour initial ibogaine experience that he experienced a significant spiritual change.
“Afterwards, I was walking, and I looked at this tree, and as I looked at it, I realized I no longer had any fear of death,” he later stated.”
Lotsof dedicated the rest of his life advocating for policy changes and research aimed at making ibogaine therapy available worldwide.
Ibogaine Therapy and the FDA
In 1970 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classified ibogaine together with other psychoactive substances like LSD and psilocybin and classified it as a Schedule I drug.
However, as PRI reported, “there is a growing body of evidence” that suggests that the Food and Drug Administration got it wrong. “Essentially, it’s because of the backlash against the psychedelic ’60s,” stated Dr. Thomas Kinglsey Brown, a chemist at the University of California, San Diego.
To make ibogaine available as prescribable medication in the United States requires a rigorous vetting process strictly regulated by the FDA.
Dr. Deborah Mash, a professor of neurology and molecular and cellular pharmacology at the University of Miami, initiated that approval process in the early 1990s, as recently reported by Psychedelics Today.
However, FDA approval requires a total of four additional trials, and Dr. Mash ended the remaining trials prematurely due to funding issues, pressure from the pharmaceutical industry, and an intellectual property lawsuit.
In Conclusion
Your health and well-being are our top priorities at Casa Santa Isabel. Our facility and medical staff meet all public health and safety requirements, and we are a fully licensed clinic. This licensing allows us to provide Ibogaine therapy on site safely.
The majority of clinics do not have medical licenses and illegally administer ibogaine on their premises. Other unlicensed centers transport their customers to a private hospital for treatment, usually requiring a two day stay in a small hospital before being returned to their facility. Patients at Casa Santa Isabel remain in the comfort of our fantastic luxury retreat throughout the entire process.
We understand that your journey to personal and spiritual growth can be unsettling. We want you to know that we are on your side and we will try our best to get you through the process in comfort and harmony.