Sunshine Coast alternative therapist calls on Government to research iboga plant to treat drug addiction
/ By Harriet TathamA Sunshine Coast alternative drug therapy provider has written to the Turnbull Government calling for research into a controversial alternative treatment to combat ice addiction.
Hypnotherapist Vanessa Gregory said the Government's National Innovation and Science Agenda should be used to fund a drug trial of iboga and its chemical derivative, ibogaine.
"Ibogaine is a ceremonial drug that's been used for centuries that comes from the bark of a shrub ... that is found in West Africa," she said.
"What appears to happen [after taking ibogaine]: over a three day period they go into an internal experience, they appear to do a life review, and they appear to come out with no actual interest or need for illicit substances afterwards."
Ibogaine resets opioid receptors that flare during addiction
Dr Stephen Bright, from the School of Psychology and Speech Pathology at Curtin University said research into ibogaine was needed to investigate the drug's potential.
An integral component of it is not just the fact that it resets the opiate receptor sites, but the way in which it forces the person to reflect on how their drug use has impacted on their family and their community.
"The interesting thing about ibogaine is that it tends to reset the opioid receptors sites so that the person, that may be heroin dependant or dependant on another opiate, doesn't really go through a withdrawal period and their tolerance to the drug is reduced as if they had never used before," Dr Bright said.
He said the potential benefit of ibogaine stems from its ability to inspire a period of self-reflection.
"An integral component of it is not just the fact that it resets the opiate receptor sites, but the way in which it forces the person to reflect on how their drug use has impacted on their family and their community," he said.
Dr Bright said, while there have been reports of deaths as a result of taking ibogaine, these interactions occurred in a non-clinical setting.
"The problem is that is has an impact on the cardiovascular system," he said.
Despite this, Dr Bright said the benefits outweigh the potential risk.
"If screening is conducted and we determine that the person doesn't have any pre-existing cardiovascular disorders, then it's unlikely to have a risk that would outweigh the benefit of potentially trialling it."
Government funding needed for research
Dr Bright said while he does not believe ibogaine would be an effective treatment for methamphetamine addiction, it has been used internationally to treat opiate addiction.
"In the 60s, experimentation with iboga and ibogaine began in the US as a potential treatment for opiate addiction and it continues to be used in some countries like Mexico and Canada, where they administer the actual chemical contained in the plant in a controlled clinical setting."
But Dr Bright said there have not yet been any randomised trials of the drug, so research was needed to understand it.
"Ibogaine is actually a Schedule 4 drug so it can be prescribed by a doctor," he said.
"All that research would require is for somebody to apply for a research grant to conduct a randomized control trial of the trial, engage with a university pharmacy to manufacture the drug, and involve a GP who would be able to prescribe the drug as part of the therapy that's being provided."
Dr Bright said research in an Australian context would be quite easy, but the current barrier is the inability for drug companies to patent the plant.
"Because it comes from a plant, pharmaceutical companies don't have a vested interest in pursuing the effectiveness of this drug because they're unable to make profits from the use of this drug," he said.
"The only research that's like to happen is that which is Government-funded."
Like Ms Gregory, Dr Bright has called on the Federal Government to investigate ibogaine as a potential drug treatment.
"There's an opportunity here for Government funding to investigate a treatment that isn't going to be investigated otherwise."