This is the question that I am asked most often. What does a right-wing antidrug governor have to do with psychedelics?
Stephen Simpson is the Texas Tribune
As Texas sets to crack down on the recreational use of cannabis, state leaders are opting to invest $50 million in another plant with purported medicinal benefits—a psychedelic called ibogaine.
Since several years, many people silently travel to Mexico clinics to take Ibogaine. Over the Texas-Mexico border, an extract from an ancient African bush is used to treat brain trauma and addiction.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 2308 Wednesday. The bill creates a consortium between universities, hospitals and drug companies that will conduct clinical tests on an ibogaine medication in hopes of receiving approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This effort will be funded by $50 million from taxpayers, making Texas a global leader for psychedelic investment.
Texas wants to lead the way in drug development, so the law ensures that Texas maintains the control over research and the development process. The investment is intended to benefit Texans and not a pharmaceutical firm. Texas is entitled to receive 20% of all ibogaine products that result from these clinical trials. One quarter of those revenues will be allocated to the fund for Texas veterans.
After a failed attempt in Kentucky to start a state-funded ibogaine drug, Texas has picked up the effort under the leadership of a familiar statewide figure-turned psychedelics cheerleader—former Gov. Rick Perry (R).
Bryan Hubbard said, “This is not possible without Perry”, the executive director for the American Ibogaine Initiative and former Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission. He made it possible in Texas. This is an important event that catches national attention.
Ibogaine, an illegal substance, has been embraced by Republicans. Some of these Republicans, including Lt. Governor. Dan Patrick is on a mission in the current session to prohibit recreational THC use, and Abbott has yet to approve it.
Katharine Neill Harris is a fellow in the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University. She said that Republicans are more likely to support ibogaine, because its intent is to treat addiction.
She said, “This bill does not grant the public access to Ibogaine and nothing is in it that can be considered as being soft on drugs.”
Patrick’s hardline views about THC have been criticized by both the left and the right. It seems that he has decided to publicly support ibogaine in order to combat these critics. Patrick didn’t respond to an inquiry for comment on this article.
Harris stated that Texas’s investment in ibogaine may be a catalyst for other states to start investing in research on drugs to combat addiction. Private funds are inconsistent.
In 2024, FDA denied a request to accept MDMA-assisted treatment for PTSD. The FDA’s rejection of MDMA-assisted PTSD therapy was a major blow for the private sector, leading many to reconsider their investment.
Miracle drug?
Chase Rowan, a former Army Ranger who was unable to think of anything else but suicide in early 2022.
In the night training session he had taken part in 16 years earlier, his parachutes failed to deploy fully as he careened towards the ground with 60 miles an hour. The Keller resident became addicted to fentanyl after he suffered a severe brain injury.
I was all alone. Rowan said, “I had no money or vehicle. Just white-knuckled sobriety.”
Rowan was not afraid when he went to Mexico in 2022 to try a new drug, called ibogaine. He wanted to be healed.
Upon taking the ibogaine pill, Rowan started seeing images — one of a devil with wings and another of roads leading to childhood memories. His first night of psychedelics opened him up to his past and to the hurt he had caused others.
The following morning, the man woke up feeling as happy as he has in the past 20 years.
It felt like an enormous weight had been lifted. I got all that out.”
Rowan’s experience was a high from ibogaine, which is sometimes referred to as “spiritual enlightenment” or an increased sense of self.
Stanford Medicine published a study 2024 which found that “ibogaine when combined with Magnesium to protect the Heart, safely reduces PTSD anxiety depression in Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury and increases their functioning.”
Hubbard does not see a threat that ibogaine will be abused or used recreationally, as it doesn’t provide a pleasant high. Instead, the drug leaves users in a temporary state of paralysis. Due to this, many never take another dose.
Hubbard said that this drug has no market in the street.
Ibogaine has its own dangers. Harris says it is one of the more difficult psychedelics because of its risks. These include cardiac problems and sudden deaths. Harris stated that because of the risk, it is more costly to study and administer ibogaine as a drug, which delays its widespread availability.
“If the FDA were to approve ibogaine for opioid use disorders or other disorders…the treatment could be quite costly,” Harris said.
Rick Perry Effect
Perry is one of America’s leading advocates for psychedelic research since he left his post as U.S. energy secretary during the Trump administration.
It was not until he vacated the Austin governor’s mansion that a journey of this magnitude began.
Perry replied with a smile: “It is the most common question I receive.” “What does a right-wing antidrug governor have to do with psychedelics?”
Perry got close to Marcus Luttrell in 2006 who suffered from a brain damage, PTSD and an addiction. He had no access to treatment. Luttrell slept with his TV on and the lights turned up, as a way to soothe his battered brain.
Perry was skeptical of Luttrell’s plan to visit Mexico and try ibogaine along with other veterans.
“I recall the first time that he said it, I looked at the man like a puppy does when a loud noise is heard. Perry recalled telling Perry that he should be cautious, because despite my belief in drugs, some people who I trusted had gone to Mexico.
Perry was convinced by the data. Perry believes that ibogaine is a powerful drug and he will tell anyone about this. In the past, he’s spoken about ibogaine and other psychedelic therapies on Joe Rogan’s podcast. In Denver, he is scheduled to speak at a conference on psychedelics. Also, he plans to contact officials in Israel or Ukraine about ibogaine programs.
I have always been open-minded to learning new things. Perry added that he was willing to alter his beliefs about criminal justice reform or in-state tuition after examining the science and data.
Hubbard said that FDA approval of clinical trials is unlikely to happen in Texas for at least another six years.
But he hopes that this drug will be eligible for Breakthrough Therapy, which is a designation that expedites the review process of drugs with early potential to treat severe diseases. By June 30th 2024, only 587 of 1,516 designations requested by the FDA since 2012 had been granted.
Hubbard is confident that the FDA will be able to expedite this process if the FDA sees the progress in Texas.
Hubbard said that if Texas could create a plan of treatment for ibogaine it would be one of the greatest achievements in modern medicine over the past century.
Disclosure: Rice University, and the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University, have both been financial supporters for The Texas Tribune. The Texas Tribune is a non-partisan, nonprofit news organisation that receives funding in part from donations made by members, corporate sponsors, and foundations. The journalism of the Tribune is not affected by financial supporters. You can find a list here.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/11/texas-psychedelics-ibogaine-treatment-addiction-rick-perry-funding/.
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