[neverdem]

Say a prayer for reproducible results. Too bad no numbers were given.

[TADSLOS]

"I was hooked," she says.

and now she's a pusher.

[Destro]

LSD -- before the Hippie craze was such a wonder drug. It probably is a wonder drug but abuse of it made the Feds ban its use. Or so the official line goes.

[martin_fierro]

Hallucinogen May Cure Drug Addiction

So tell me something I don't already know.

[templar]

Is Ibogaine physically additive in itself? (I think most of those type drugs aren't physically addictive)

[martin_fierro]

AH PITY TH' FOO' WHUT PUT HALLUCINOGENS IN MAH DRUGZ!

[45Auto]

Oh, not the old Ibogaine con game again! Dr. Mash has a vested interest in the Great Ibogaine Con because she is working off NSF grants. The idea of using psychedelics to treat addiction is not new; Tim Leary conducted research on the use of LSD and psilocybin in the treatment of alcoholics about 40 years ago. Freud experimented with the use of cocaine in the treatment of his friend's morphine addiction over a hundred years ago. His experiments ended in near disaster and after that, Freud swore off praising the benefits of cocaine (and he used it by injection).The whole idea of using one abusable substance to treat the addiction to another abusable substance is insane.

[Fedora]

When informed of this discovery, Onion correspondent Jim Anchower replied, "Dude! That's what I've been saying for years!"

[45Auto]

Ibogaine induces glial activation in parasagittal zones of the cerebellum.

O'Hearn, Elizabeth; Long, David B.; Molliver, Mark E. Sch. Med., Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD, USA.

NeuroReport (1993), 4(3), 299-302.

Abstract

Ibogaine, an indole alkaloid, has been proposed for treatment of drug addiction, yet its mechanism, site of action, and possible neurotoxicity have not been detd. Since neuronal injury is known to activate neuroglial cells, the authors investigated potential neurotoxic effects of this drug in rats by examg. expression of specific glial markers. After treatment with ibogaine (100 mg kg-1 i.p.; 1-3 doses), the authors obsd. increased cytochem. markers in both microglia (OX-6, OX-42, W3/25) and astrocytes (GFAP), assocd. with striking morphol. changes in these cells. Activated glial cells were restricted to longitudinally oriented, parasagittal stripes within the vermis of cerebellar cortex. The ibogaine-induced activation of cerebellar glial cells is highly suggestive of neuronal degeneration, most likely of Purkinje cells.

[45Auto]

Here's a more "neutral" paper:

Ibogaine neurotoxicity assessment: electrophysiological, neurochemical, and neurohistological methods.

Binienda, Zbigniew K.; Scallet, Andrew C.; Schmued, Larry C.; Ali, Syed F. Division of Neurotoxicology, FDA/National Center for Toxicological Research, Jefferson, AR, USA.

Alkaloids (Academic Press) (2001), 56(Ibogaine), 193-210.

Abstract

A review discusses the interactions of ibogaine with various neurotransmitter systems. Electrophysiol., neurochem., and neurohistol. tools were used to evaluate ibogaine neurotoxicity. Electrophysiol. studies indicated that ibogaine stimulates monoaminergic neurons and may lower the threshold for cocaine induced electrog. seizures. Ibogaine interacts with several neurotransmitter-binding sites, produces significant alterations in neurotransmitter concns. in different regions of the brain, and also induces immediate early genes. Neuropathol. investigations showed that ibogaine administered at high doses produces selective neuronal degeneration. Thus, ibogaine might have potential use for the treatment of drug addiction, but may also be neurotoxic at high doses.

[StriperSniper]

[45Auto]

The upshot is, that while ibogaine is an interesting substance and possibly useful in basic studies in pharmacology and brain chemistry, it doesn't hold much promise as a "magic bullet" to render the addict "cured". Its side effect profile suggests that it might indeed be somewhat neurotoxic at certain dose levels or with certain levels of repeated treatment. There are much better (and safer) drugs in current use to curtail some of the withdrawal problems associated with the opiates. And there is no substitute, I repeat, no substitute for massive and continued group therapy for addicts, including twelve step organizations. There's no easy way; those who think there might be are seriously deluded, at least by current medical scientific knowledge.

[Scenic Sounds]

[neverdem]

PING

[xzins]

ping to drug addiction article

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

It doesn't come from a modern laboratory, but from an ancient plant.

This alone will be reason enough for the gubmint to ban it or attempt to control it. Just like hemp was banned years ago because its cultivation and use as replacement for many synthetically produced products would have upset the apple cart and cut into the profits of a number of industrialists.

But that's just my cynical/paranoid opinion....

What's that noise? Is that a black helicopter coming?

[LadyDoc]

This is a new variation of an old lie.

Back in the 1960s and 1970's, they tried LSD to "cure" heroin addiction... didn't work. But it led to a bunch of crazy organizations that claimed to cure addiction but which degenerated into cults or worse.

This "cure" was originally associated with a pagan ritual.

Rituals do cure heroin addiction, but this type of thing done in a different culture is dangerous (not just on a christian or spiritual plane, but because the self appointed guru doing the ritual is not under the limitations of that society's traditions, and therefore has no limits to prevent abuse.)

You want to be cured? get your assembly of God pastor to have a prayer group pray over you...forget this stuff.

Scientifically it is merely a new version of an old error...spritually it is dangerous to your soul.

[HangThemHigh]

Wonder if this stuff works on tobacco/nicotine? IF it could get approved (not likely) a cure for alcohol and tobacco addiction would have a huge market and the potential for profits would be substantial.

[nmh]

I was hooked," she says.

That about sums it up. Hooked on a hallucinative drug. That's not something to get excited over. What they should be doing is finding out what is troubling the soul of the addict. When they over come that, they won't be addicted to any drug.

[CathyRyan]

I wonder if it would work for depression?