A summit was held in Colorado this weekend by drug policy reformers, experts on public health, current and ex-government officials, to discuss the future of state-led clinical trials into ibogaine, a potential treatment for trauma, addiction and other neurodegenerative disorders.
The three-day Aspen Ibogaine Meeting brought together scientists and policy makers to discuss the science, legal and financial infrastructure needed to move forward with the clinical trials.
Former Texas Governor Rick Perry was among the attendees at this closed-door meeting. Rick Perry (R), and Kyrsten Sinesma, former U.S. Senator (I-AZ), have both been advocating ibogaine-reform in their own states.
MEDCAN24 was told that other participants included two Kentucky senators, a senator from Indiana, and representatives from Ohio and Missouri.
A media contact added that “high-level officials from non-elected government positions” were included in several state delegations, as well leaders of mental health policy and drug addiction.
All told, representatives of 15 states—Arizona, Kentucky, Texas, Ohio, New York, Nevada, Michigan, Mississippi, Tennessee, New Mexico, West Virginia, Missouri, Indiana, and Washington—were in attendance, including “elected officials, public health leaders, state health department representatives, and legal and financial officers responsible for opioid settlement fund allocations,” according to a press release from organizers.
“What emerged was a proposed model for multistate collaboration—one that prioritizes cost-sharing, risk reduction, and a more efficient path to clinical development,” the release says. By pooling resources, coordinating their efforts and harmonizing state-led initiatives in a single effort to minimize risks and ensure safety and effectiveness.
The summit organizers hail the event as a huge success.
Bryan Hubbard – executive director at the American Ibogaine Initiative & co-organizer for the Aspen Ibogaine Meeting – said, “This meeting was much more than a simple gathering.” It was the start of a new movement. Leaders from across the country are coming together to say: we must do better—and ibogaine may be one of the most promising tools we have to change the future trajectory of the American society.”
Hubbard called the project “America’s next Manhattan Project” on Tuesday.
A press release for the event states that the Aspen Ibogaine Meeting’s next edition is set to take place in October.
Sue Sisley is a psychiatrist who led studies in controlled substances such as marijuana and psychedelics.
Sisley told MEDCAN24 in a short phone conversation this week she is optimistic about future Aspen Ibogaine Meetings.
She said that funding is a big obstacle in conducting controlled trials on controlled substances, and collaboration among states can help overcome this.
The press release states that, according to the framework presented at the event and the contributions made to the research on ibogaine by the participating countries, “states who contribute to the future treatment program when the ibogaine therapy is approved” will have access early to it.
If successful, it says “this strategy can serve as a model for funding additional research on ibogaine’s potential treatment of a variety of neurological and mental conditions.”
Sinema called for the Arizona state legislature earlier this summer to approve a measure to finance clinical trials of ibogaine. She also pledged that she would personally collect $5 million to fund research in the event the bill is passed.
Last month, the state legislature passed the bill.
Perry, meanwhile, said earlier this year that he’s already convinced by the scientific evidence—as well as conversations with experts and lawmakers—that ibogaine carries significant therapeutic potential to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), addiction, traumatic brain injury (TBI) and more.
Perry didn’t support psychedelics policy reform all the time. The conservative former governor said that didn’t come until after he spoke with the twin brother of Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX), Marcus, and subsequently the congressman himself—both of whom are veterans who personally benefitted from psychedelics therapy. Perry stated that he began researching the topic and became an advocate after these discussions.
In 2023, Perry also called on the federal government to move forward on psychedelics reform, saying the opportunity to improve the lives of people with PTSD and other ailments shouldn’t boil down to partisan politics.
He also joined leading psychedelics researchers and advocates for an event in 2021 focused on promoting research into the therapeutic potential of substances like psilocybin and MDMA for military veterans.
A number of states have also explored ibogaine reform, such as New York, where a bill was introduced earlier this year to legalize certain controlled substances—including as psilocybin and ibogaine—for adults 21 and older.
People in the U.S. who want ibogaine must travel to countries where it is legal.
After receiving ibogaine, the researchers noted “dramatic improvements” to participants’ cognitive and symptomatic functioning.
Stanford University researchers who conducted the study and published it in Nature Medicine also reported minimal side effects.
Sinema, the Arizona House member for Sinema, told a panel of lawmakers earlier this year she hoped that “in the very near future, we’ll see ibogaine approved as a treatment for traumatic head injury, PTSD and treatment-resistant depression, as well as other neurological disorders like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and addiction.”
She said that “eventually” this will be made available to people with these conditions across the nation.
Sinema also said that, during her time in the Senate, she worked “very closely” with U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) officials—and she’s also had the opportunity to speak to the incoming secretary of the agency, former Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), about the issue.
Sinema explained, “I had an opportunity to educate him on the issue and VA federally is still working on the research.” They are not currently researching ibogaine, but other breakthrough treatments. “These are extremely important for providing clinical treatment to veterans.”
The former senator was referencing VA’s $1.5 million investment into a study exploring MDMA-assisted therapy for veterans with PTSD and alcohol use disorder—which she separately discussed at an event with then-VA Under Secretary for Health Shereef Elnahal.
Sinema explained that VA-led trials “don’t lead to FDA approval.” This is an entirely different approach that will ensure that the FDA one day approves this drug, and it becomes available to people who are not part of the VA.
Last year, Sinema visited a VA facility that’s leading psychedelic research efforts.
Texas Senator introduces bill to fund research into psychedelic therapies for depression and PTSD
Photos courtesy Flickr/Scamperdale