Ibogaine: A Miracle Psychedelic?

Science Vs

Spotify Studios

Science, Education, Health & Fitness

4.4 • 12.4K Ratings

🗓️ 21 May 2026

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Ibogaine. Fans say this psychedelic is a game changer for treating a bunch of mental health conditions — that even a single trip to your friendly ibogaine clinic could cure you of lifelong struggles with addiction. And recently President Trump signed an executive order fast-tracking research into this psychedelic drug. But how well does it really work? And is it safe?? To find out, we talk to clinical psychologist Dr. Alan Davis and psychiatrist Prof. Paul Glue. Some resources for help with substance use and domestic violence: Substance use and mental health concerns (U.S.): SAMHSA National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357) National Domestic Violence Hotline (U.S.): 800.799.7233 or www.thehotline.org Find international resources and more at spotify.com/resources Find our transcript here: https://tinyurl.com/ScienceVsIbogaine In this episode, we cover: (00:00) The hot new psychedelic on the block (07:25) Can ibogaine help with opioid addiction? (18:31) How does ibogaine help people? (20:50) How long do the benefits last? (26:10) What are the risks? (29:31) Is there a safe dose that can help people? This episode was produced by Meryl Horn with help from Rose Rimler, Ekedi Fausther-Keeys, Michelle Dang and Wendy Zukerman. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Wendy Zukerman is the executive producer. Fact checking by Diane Kelly. Mix and sound design by Bobby Lord. Music written by Bobby Lord, Bumi Hidaka, So Wylie, Emma Munger and Peter Leonard. Thanks to the researchers we spoke to about this, including Dr. Rafael Santos, and a special thanks to those who talked to us about their ibogaine experiences. Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm Wendy Zuckerman, and this is Science Verses.
0:05.4	The show that pits facts against fast-track drugs.
0:13.6	Today, we are talking about Ibergain.
0:17.4	And before we dive in, this episode discusses substance abuse and also mentions interpersonal abuse.
0:25.0	So please take care while you're listening and we're going to put some resources in our show notes.
0:30.0	Okay, so Ibegain.
0:33.2	It's the latest psychedelic drug to hit the headlines.
0:37.0	The Trump administration is very excited about it
0:39.6	because people are saying that it could be groundbreaking for mental health
0:43.1	and that Ibegain could cure things like opioid addiction or PTSD,
0:47.7	which got senior producer Merrill Horne PhD.
0:51.8	Very curious about this.
0:58.1	Hello, Merrill. Hey, Wendy. Yeah, I wanted to see what this was all about. And so, yeah, I started looking into Ibrahimagane. Wendy, have you tried Ibegain?
1:03.1	I have not tried Ibergain. I mean, it's real, it's funny when a new psychedelic hits the headlines, right?
1:12.6	We've had so many.
1:13.9	And Ibegain kind of felt like it came out of nowhere.
1:16.4	That's what it felt like to me.
1:17.9	But then as soon as I started getting into it, I realized, oh, there's like a whole kind
1:22.6	of underground community of people who are very into this drug.
1:26.6	And so I immediately kind of wanted to talk to people who have actually tried this to see what it actually feels like.
1:34.5	Great.
1:35.3	So meet Rhett Chapman. He's from Arkansas.
	...

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