Remission of Severe Opioid Use Disorder with Ibogaine: A Case Report.
Laurie Cloutier-Gill, Evan Wood, Trevor Millar, Caroline Ferris, M Eugenia Socias
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 2016 DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2016.1180467 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | 37-year-old female with severe opioid use disorder |
| Intervention | Ibogaine |
| Duration | Four-day treatment, 18-month follow-up |
| Topics | Ibogaine Addiction |
| Keywords | Methadone maintance therapy Opioid agonist treatment Opioid use disorders Ibogaine treatment Remission Abstinence Long-term recovery Treatment-resistant opioid addiction Standard opioid therapies Methadone maintenance therapy Standard care |
| Citations | 22 |
| Key findings | A four-day ibogaine treatment was associated with an ongoing 18-month period of abstinence in a patient with treatment-refractory severe opioid use disorder. |
Abstract
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. 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. 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.