But Is It Faith-Based?

Hallucinogen May Cure Drug Addiction

Drug addiction has been the plague of modern America. But
that could now change forever. What started as a rumor may now actually
be an incredible breakthrough in the battle against addictions of all
kinds. Ibogaine has a number of strikes against it: It doesn't come
from a modern laboratory, but from an ancient plant. It was discovered
not by a scientist, but by a heroin addict. It is mildly hallucinogenic
and completely illegal in the United States. However, when it comes to
curing addiction, a reputable scientist believes ibogaine is nothing
short of a miracle. "I didn't believe it when I first heard about
ibogaine. I thought it was something that needed to be debunked,"
admits Dr. Deborah Mash, professor of Neurology and Molecular and
Cellular Pharmacology at University of Miami.
[...]
Like most addicts, Patrick tried to quit. But treatment for addiction
is notoriously ineffective. Only one in ten addicts manages to return
to a drug-free life. Most stay dependent on illegal drugs or their
legal substitutes, like methadone. "And I was a spectacular failure at
every possible treatment modality, every paradigm, every detox, every
therapy, nothing ever worked," admits Patrick. Even as Patrick Kroupa
despaired of ever kicking heroin, Dr. Mash was petitioning the Federal
Food and Drug Administration to allow a scientific test of ibogaine,
which by this time had been classified as a "schedule one" drug on a
par with heroin. In 1993, the FDA approval came through. "We were
established, we had a team of research scientists, doctors, clinicians,
psychiatrists, toxicologists and we wanted to go forward with this,"
describes Dr. Mash. But even with FDA approval, Dr. Mash could not get
funding to look into what was, after all, a counter-culture drug. In
order to complete her project, she had to leave South Florida and go
offshore, to the island of St. Kitts. In 1998, clinical trials finally
got underway. Patients were given carefully prepared oral doses of
ibogaine. What happened next astounded the sceptical scientist. "Our
first round in St. Kitts, we treated six individuals, and I will go to
my grave with the memory of that first round," says Dr. Mash. It
quickly became apparent that one dose of ibogaine blocked the
withdrawal symptoms of even hard-core addicts and was amazingly
effective for heroin, crack cocaine and even alcohol. There are two
reasons why: The first, science can measure. The second remains a
mystery. Dr. Mash admits, "I was really scared. I questioned my own
sanity on numerous occasions."

Posted by flow Frazao on February 21, 2004 at 10:12 AM | Permalink