Following an executive order last week, the FDA approved accelerating access to treatments for those with serious mental illnesses—treatments that include psychedelics. In other words: Restrictions around research for and access to certain psychedelics like psilocybin (mushrooms) and methylone (MDMA) are, at last, being loosened, and hopefully for the better.
In their announcement, the FDA also specifically called out a drug called ibogaine, a psychedelic with strong dissociative and hallucinogenic properties that—while perhaps not as widely or loudly touted as mushrooms, MDMA, or even ketamine—is a highly promising treatment for addiction and traumatic brain injuries.
Although the last several years have marked somewhat of a cultural turning point for psychedelics, there is still quite a bit of misinformation and confusion around the so-called “magic” drugs. That’s why we’ve tapped patients, experts, and advocates—including W. Bryan Hubbard, the CEO of Americans for Ibogaine, and former Texas governor Rick Perry—to explain how this particular psychedelic works, why it’s gaining such momentum, and what the new federal rulings could mean for addiction, PTSD, psychedelic-assisted therapy, and beyond.