Risk management in a global market of alternative addiction care: a case study of the ibogaine medical subculture
Johan Söderberg, Jakob Lundgren
Social Theory & Health June 27, 2025 DOI: 10.1057/s41285-025-00220-1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstractAbstract
Abstract The controlled substance “ibogaine” is reported to have unique addiction-interrupting properties. Due to its illegal status, the drug's application for treating substance dependency has been explored by a network of addicts and harm reduction activists in underground and off-shore clinics. The article investigates the strategies that practitioners have adopted to mitigate harm from administrating this potentially cardiotoxic drug. The case study invites us to probe the affordances (or lack thereof) of a medical subculture to create a global governance structure in the absence of public funding and state regulations. The wider significance of the case study rests on our theoretical claim that the global market in alternative addiction care is indicative of the future of a market-based healthcare system at large.
Comparable studies
Other case reports and case series on ibogaine for addiction, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long-QT Syndrome Induced by the Antiaddiction Drug Ibogaine A 31-year-old woman | 2009 | Case study | n = 1 |
| A case report SPECT study and theoretical rationale for the sequential administration of ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT in the treatment of alcohol use disorder. 31-year-old male military veteran with moderate alcohol use disorder | 2018 | Case study | n = 1 |
| Remission of Severe Opioid Use Disorder with Ibogaine: A Case Report. 37-year-old female with severe opioid use disorder | 2016 | Case study | n = 1 |
| Ibogaine Consumption With Seizure-Like Episodes, QTc-Prolongation, and Captured Cardiac Dysrhythmias. 34-year-old white woman with heroin and cocaine use disorder | 2019 | Case study | n = 1 |
| Novel treatment of opioid use disorder using ibogaine and iboga in two adults Individuals with opioid use disorder accessing ibogaine through private unregulated... | 2020 | Case series | n = 2 |