TY - JOUR
KW - Ibogaine
KW - Methadone
KW - methadone maintance therapy
KW - opioid agonist treatment
KW - opioid use disorders
AU - L. Cloutier-Gill
AU - E. Wood
AU - T. Millar
AU - C. Ferris
AU - Eugenia Socias
A1 - 
AB - BACKGROUND: Opioid use disorders (OUD) translate into major health, social, and economic consequences. Opioid agonist medications, which generally require long-term administration, are the mainstay pharmacological treatment of OUD. However, a large proportion of individuals with OUD either refuse or fail to respond to these therapies. Ibogaine, a naturally occurring substance found in the Tabernanthe iboga plant, has shown potential to bring about transformative or spiritual experiences that have reportedly been associated with long-term abstinece. Although research on ibogaine is limited, an ibogaine subculture persists, offering unregulated ibogaine preparations for the treatment of addiction. CASE PRESENTATION: We describe the case of a 37-year-old female with a 19-year history of severe OUD achieving an ongoing 18-month period of abstinence following a four-day ibogaine treatment. Her previous longest period of continuous abstinence from opioids was two months while on methadone. No safety issues associated with ibogaine were observed. CONCLUSIONS: A four-day treatment with ibogaine was succesful in achieving long-term remission of a previously treatment-refractory patient with severe OUD. While rigorous trials are required to establish safety and efficacy, future studies should seek to delineate the potential role of ibogaine or other molecules that may produce transformative experiences for individuals with substance use disorder.
BT - Journal of psychoactive drugs
C5 - Opioids & Substance Use
CP - 3
CY - United States
DO - 10.1080/02791072.2016.1180467
IS - 3
JF - Journal of psychoactive drugs
N2 - BACKGROUND: Opioid use disorders (OUD) translate into major health, social, and economic consequences. Opioid agonist medications, which generally require long-term administration, are the mainstay pharmacological treatment of OUD. However, a large proportion of individuals with OUD either refuse or fail to respond to these therapies. Ibogaine, a naturally occurring substance found in the Tabernanthe iboga plant, has shown potential to bring about transformative or spiritual experiences that have reportedly been associated with long-term abstinece. Although research on ibogaine is limited, an ibogaine subculture persists, offering unregulated ibogaine preparations for the treatment of addiction. CASE PRESENTATION: We describe the case of a 37-year-old female with a 19-year history of severe OUD achieving an ongoing 18-month period of abstinence following a four-day ibogaine treatment. Her previous longest period of continuous abstinence from opioids was two months while on methadone. No safety issues associated with ibogaine were observed. CONCLUSIONS: A four-day treatment with ibogaine was succesful in achieving long-term remission of a previously treatment-refractory patient with severe OUD. While rigorous trials are required to establish safety and efficacy, future studies should seek to delineate the potential role of ibogaine or other molecules that may produce transformative experiences for individuals with substance use disorder.
PP - United States
PY - 2016
SN - 2159-9777; 0279-1072
SP - 214
EP - 217
EP - 
T1 - Remission of Severe Opioid Use Disorder with Ibogaine: A Case Report
T2 - Journal of psychoactive drugs
TI - Remission of Severe Opioid Use Disorder with Ibogaine: A Case Report
U1 - Opioids & Substance Use
U2 - 27192438
U3 - 10.1080/02791072.2016.1180467
VL - 48
VO - 2159-9777; 0279-1072
Y1 - 2016
ER -