Kentucky Should Reconsider Funding Ibogaine Research
Blog Post | 113 KY. L. J. ONLINE | March 19, 2025
Kentucky Should Reconsider Funding Ibogaine Research
By: Lucas Hall, Staff Editor, Vol. 113
In 2023, the Commonwealth of Kentucky declined the opportunity to potentially change the lives of individuals struggling with opioid addiction. It is time Kentucky rectified this mistake.
For decades, the United States has struggled with an opioid epidemic that has taken the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.[1] The Commonwealth of Kentucky, being one of the states with the most overdose casualties, has suffered significantly from the epidemic.[2] In recent years, the epidemic has only worsened due to the presence of fentanyl.[3] The epidemic’s damage goes beyond those it kills and impacts communities throughout the Commonwealth.[4]
While treatments for opioid addiction exist, they lack adequate effectiveness.[5] One drug, however, presents a new hope for those suffering from opioid addiction. Ibogaine, a psychoactive drug from the iboga plant, has been shown to “rapidly alleviat[e] opioid withdrawal and cravings.”[6] In 2023, the Chair of the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission, Bryan Hubbard, suggested Kentucky use forty two million dollars from its “opioid lawsuit settlement,” which was approximately nine hundred million dollars, to become the first state in the country to research ibogaine’s effectiveness as an opioid addiction treatment.[7] The proposal lost steam, however, when Hubbard resigned after Attorney General-elect Russell Coleman appointed Hubbard’s replacement.[8]
Ibogaine’s risks are not denied. Ibogaine is considered a Schedule I drug in the United States.[9] The drug has caused “severe toxic adverse events” and some deaths.[10] Additionally, ibogaine comes with cardiac-related risks as well.[11] The immediate implementation of the drug as an opioid addiction treatment is not necessarily what is being advocated for, though. Instead, supporters of ibogaine for treatment of opioid addiction simply want to study the drug to learn its potential as a remedy for those suffering from opioids.[12]
There are several factors indicating ibogaine’s potential as a treatment for opioid addiction and thus warranting research into the substance. Studies have shown the drug to be quite effective in relieving withdrawal symptoms.[13] Individuals have also testified to the significant benefit they gained from using ibogaine.[14]
There are also factors not directly related to ibogaine itself that support the research and study of the substance. The biggest factor is the need for better opioid addiction treatment. While ibogaine may seem like an extreme measure, the United States and its people have been fighting the opioid epidemic for decades, and yet, it still remains.[15] The inability of current methods to stop the opioid epidemic after all this time suggests a more extreme measure, such as ibogaine, may be warranted.
Additionally, it would be beneficial for the money from the opioid settlement to go towards healing the individuals who were directly harmed by the opioid epidemic. While measures such as prevention are important, they cannot undo the damage already suffered by those already experiencing opioid addiction. It would also be fitting for Kentucky, as one of the states hit the hardest by the opioid epidemic,[16] to become the state that pioneers a new way of helping opioid addicts.
Although it is not completely lacking in drawbacks, the evidence of ibogaine’s effectiveness in treating opioid addiction cannot be ignored. In light of the severity of the seemingly everlasting opioid epidemic, the need to at least research ibogaine is clear. If ibogaine is studied and discovered to not be a usable remedy for opioid addiction, then the Commonwealth will have lost some money. On the other hand, however, if Kentucky does not research ibogaine and it is in fact a valid treatment for opioid addition, the Commonwealth would have missed out on a chance to help so many whose lives have been ruined by opioids. The Commonwealth needs to return to the ibogaine issue and rectify this mistake for the sake of Kentuckians and the victims of the opioid epidemic. It is time the Kentucky legislature and Attorney General give ibogaine, and Kentuckians, another chance.
[1] Uncovering the Opioid Epidemic, David J. Sencer CDC Museum Public Health Academy, https://www.cdc.gov/museum/pdf/cdcm-pha-stem-uncovering-the-opioid-epidemic-lesson.pdf, (last visited Mar. 3, 2025).
[2] Kentucky Ranks Fourth in Nation for Overdose Rate, Addiction Recovery Care (Nov. 22, 2021), https://www.arccenters.com/articles/2021/11/22/in-the-news-kentucky-ranks-fourth-in-nation-for-overdose-rate/?tm=tt&ap=gads&aaid=adaE63Hclztro&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADo_y2eDYQLDwab1-MKSsOYOyDaKf&gclid=CjwKCAiAw5W-BhAhEiwApv4goCmnr6JE9h8xvJxBSAF07tanzPExPs5zK-gAGBqTAaLCcobmA6qxoBoCbL0QAvD_BwE.
[3] Steve Katsikas & Annamarie Heink, How KY’s Investment in Studying an African Plant Could Reshape Opioid Treatment, Lexington Herald Leader (Sept. 7, 2023, 2:01 PM), https://www.kentucky.com/opinion/op-ed/article279024459.html.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Martin R. Steele, Breakthrough Therapies Like Ibogaine Could Help Solve Kentucky’s Opioid Crisis, Lexington Herald Leader (Dec. 19, 2023, 11:06 AM), https://www.kentucky.com/opinion/op-ed/article283204548.html.
[7] Alex Acquisto, KY Opioid Commission One Step Closer to Potentially Funding Clinical Psychedelic Research, Lexington Herald Leader (Sept. 18, 2023, 6:00 AM), https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article279385184.html.
[8] Alex Aquisto, A ‘Stark’ Conversation with Incoming AG Leads KY Opioid Commission Chair to Resign, Lexington Herald Leader (Dec. 27, 2023, 12:56 PM), https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article283553323.html.
[9] Kaitlin Sullivan, Jessica Herzberg & Kate Snow, Could a Little-Known Psychedelic Drug Treat Opioid Addiction? Kentucky Wants to Find Out., NBC News (Dec. 13, 2023, 8:33 AM), https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/little-known-psychedelic-drug-treat-opioid-addiction-kentucky-wants-fi-rcna124062.
[10] Alex Aquisto & Taylor Six, An Illegal Psychedelic Could Change How KY Treats Opioid Addiction. It’s Not Without Risk, Lexington Herald Leader (June 30, 2023, 8:54 AM), https://www.kentucky.com/news/health-and-medicine/article276316616.html.
[11] Acquisto, supra note 7.
[12] Steele, supra note 6.
[13] Id.
[14] Acquisto, supra note 7.
[15] Uncovering the Opioid Epidemic, supra note 1.
[16] Alex Aquisto, Kentucky Ranks 4th in the Nation for Fatal Overdoses Amid Pandemic Surge, CDC Report Says, Lexington Herald Leader (Nov. 23, 2021, 6:32 PM), https://www.kentucky.com/article255896101.html.