Aotearoa New Zealand · Independent information vehicle
New Zealand has allowed prescribed, medically supervised ibogaine since 2009 — years before Washington began fast-tracking it. We track the science, the policy, and the capital now moving into iboga-derived medicine, for people seeking treatment and for those funding it.
For people seeking treatment or information
Ibogaine is an alkaloid from the root bark of Tabernanthe iboga, a shrub native to Central West Africa and central to the Bwiti spiritual tradition of Gabon.[Nat. Prod. Rep. 2021] It is not a recreational experience and not a quick fix.
People describe two phases: a long visionary state of dreamlike, autobiographical recall, followed by a quieter reflective period of days or weeks where the psychological work happens. For opioid dependence, the most consistent reported effect is the interruption of withdrawal and craving — an opening, not a cure. Similar reports extend to alcohol, cocaine, and methamphetamine, though the evidence is more preliminary.[Molecules 2026 scoping review]
Research also points to a biological reset. Ibogaine and its metabolite noribogaine appear to promote neuroplasticity — the brain's ability to rewire pathways — and to normalise dopamine signalling disrupted by long-term substance use.[Front. Pharmacol. 2025] In effect, the reward circuitry may be restored closer to its pre-addiction baseline, which helps explain why craving and withdrawal can diminish so rapidly after a single supervised session. In veterans with traumatic brain injury, a single magnesium-supported session produced sustained improvements in functioning, PTSD, depression and anxiety.[Nature Medicine 2024]
In New Zealand, ibogaine is an unapproved medicine that a doctor may prescribe under Section 25 of the Medicines Act.[Medsafe, Section 25] That means a prescriber, screening, and medical supervision — not mail order, and not self-treatment.
A cardiac assessment including ECG, a full medication review, and honest disclosure of any liver or heart condition.
Who is the prescribing doctor? What continuous monitoring is in place? What happens in the days after, and who supports that?
MAPS — which funded the original University of Miami programme in the 1990s — welcomed the gift of the 1994 investigational new drug application to HHS, while cautioning that a 30-year-old IND is not a substitute for current cardiac safety and sourcing data.
MAPS
Special Notice ARPA-H-SN-26-158 seeks teams to run safe, rapid clinical evaluation of ibogaine in opioid use disorder — federal money moving from policy into trial infrastructure, with sourcing and monitoring capability central to selection.
ARPA-H (via Everglade Consulting)
A private US research institute submitted its own investigational new drug application for pharmaceutical-grade ibogaine hydrochloride — evidence that GMP-grade supply, not enthusiasm, is now the rate-limiting step.
Scottsdale Research Institute
The two departments announced a comprehensive partnership to move psychedelic-assisted therapies, ibogaine included, through evaluation and into veteran care pathways — the delivery arm of April's executive order.
US Department of Health and Human Services
A bipartisan bill would have the state health department stand up an interstate pilot programme for ibogaine research for veterans — a third US state legislature putting appropriations behind the compound.
MLive
The Arizona Department of Health Services funded a five-year clinical trial of ibogaine for traumatic brain injury and related neurological conditions, with first enrolment expected in 2027 — a second US state now paying for ibogaine science directly.
Barrow Neurological Institute / KJZZ
Announced by the President, the university handed over its drug application so ibogaine can move into US clinical trials under the April executive order and expanded right-to-try access — removing one of the last procedural blocks to formal trials.
Just The News / Military.com
Translational Psychiatry published long-term follow-up of the Stanford MISTIC protocol, reporting that improvements in disability, PTSD, depression and anxiety were largely sustained a year after a single treatment.
Translational Psychiatry (Nature)
A feature on veteran trials notes strong signals for treatment-resistant PTSD alongside an unresolved mechanism of action — and an unresolved cardiac risk profile that keeps medical screening non-negotiable.
BBC Future
Days after the executive order, the FDA awarded priority review vouchers to two psilocybin developers and one MDMA developer — the clearest signal yet that a regulatory pathway for this class is opening.
AP News
Former Governor Rick Perry said Texas anticipates a share of the $50m in federal funding attached to the order, layered onto state money already allocated to ibogaine trials for veterans.
Houston Chronicle
Executive Order 14401 directs the FDA and federal agencies to accelerate review of psychedelics including ibogaine. Rogan, a long-time ibogaine advocate, joined the signing and recounted texting the President about it.
AP News / Al Jazeera
After no pharmaceutical proposal met the legislature's standards, Texas said it would fund and run the research itself with statewide medical researchers — a state-led route to FDA data.
The Texas Tribune
For investors & angel capital
Until 2026, ibogaine was a compassionate-use story told offshore. Executive Order 14401, the FDA's priority review vouchers, and state programmes in Texas moved it into a financeable category — while New Zealand retained something none of that money can buy quickly: seventeen years of lawful, supervised prescribing practice.
Section 25 prescribing means protocols, screening standards and practitioner experience already exist here. That is a data and delivery advantage for trial partners, not a loophole.
Medical-grade ibogaine has reported prices near US$150,000/kg, with Gabonese wild iboga under mounting conservation pressure. Sustainable supply, semi-synthesis and analogue chemistry are the scarce assets.
Opioid dependence, treatment-resistant PTSD and blast-related TBI — populations with poor standard-of-care outcomes and organised, vocal advocacy behind them.
Sub-perceptual ibogaine and iboga-derived protocols are gaining traction in wellness and productivity circles as a gentler, more accessible entry point. Analysts project the broader psychedelic microdosing market could grow at double-digit rates through the early 2030s, creating downstream demand for standardised, GMP-supplied alkaloids and companion digital-health tools.
Cardiac QT prolongation is the central clinical risk and the central diligence question. Programmes that solve monitoring and cardiac safety credibly are the ones that will clear regulators.
“What President Trump did basically blew the mill doors down — to be able to publicly talk about it, and not have to whisper about it.”
Rick Perry, former Governor of Texas · Houston Chronicle, April 2026
Investor briefing · PDF
Includes both residence routes — the Business Investor Work Visa at NZ$1m (residence at three years) or NZ$2m (fast-tracked at twelve months) for hands-on operators, and Active Investor Plus at NZ$5m Growth / NZ$10m Balanced — plus where capital can go, from sustainable supply to analogue chemistry.
Download the briefingRisk disclosure
Ibogaine prolongs the QT interval and has been associated with fatal arrhythmia, particularly alongside other drugs, electrolyte imbalance, or undiagnosed heart disease. Co-administered magnesium is being studied as a mitigation — the Stanford MISTIC protocol reported no serious cardiac adverse events under continuous monitoring — but that evidence supports careful medical settings, not unsupervised use. If you are in crisis in New Zealand, call or text 1737 to speak with a trained counsellor, free, any time.
Tools · Ibogaine-assisted therapy monitoring
A companion app for supervised ibogaine care: clinicians log screening, vitals and session observations in one place, while patients and their support people track preparation, session day and the weeks of integration that follow. Built on the principle that thoughtful preparation, continuous monitoring and clear records turn a powerful medicine into a safer, more repeatable therapeutic experience.
Structured screening and cardiac checks, timed observation logs through the session, and a clear record for follow-up and audit.
Guided preparation, medication and disclosure prompts, and daily check-ins across the reflective weeks after a session.
A monitoring and record-keeping tool only. It does not diagnose, prescribe, or replace continuous medical supervision.
Confidential inquiries for information, research, or capital.