Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced today that the state will be allocating $42 million to research the therapeutic potential of the psychedelic substance ibogaine for the treatment of opioid addiction.
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Attorney General Cameron said at a press conference that the state will be using $42 million that was obtained via lawsuits against opioid manufacturers to study a potential key benefit of the psychedelic substance ibogaine. The funding will lead to the establishment of clinical trial sites: a state commission will coordinator with state colleges in order to facilitate the research.
Ibogaine is a “dissociative psychedelic with oneiric properties that has multiple aforementioned anti-addictive mechanisms, as well as the ability to generate therapeutic psychological insights”, according to the journal Progress in Brain Research.
“We need to explore a new approach. We have to invest in programs, in potential solutions, for tomorrow”, said AG Cameron. “I hope that the commission [tasked with overseeing the research effort] will seek and find the next big breakthrough and that its members will initiate the investigation and dialogue necessary to make Kentucky a leader in the 21st century opioid treatment”.
According to a statement made by the AG’s office ibogaine has shown anti-addictive effects and it “repairs, maintains, and protects brain tissue, boosts and regulates mood, and deep introspection resulting in profound psychotherapeutic improvements”.
