Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the U.S. will award up to $4.9 million to prepare for the first ibogaine studies for post-traumatic stress disorder.
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U.S. federal officials announced new funding to explore the medical potential of ibogaine, a controversial psychedelic drug, with the government preparing for what officials described as the first U.S. studies for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said his department is awarding up to $4.9 million to lay the groundwork needed to manufacture, dose and design ibogaine studies for PTSD.
Kennedy said the money would not go directly to patient research, but would support the steps officials said are required before clinical studies begin.
Ibogaine is made from a shrub native to West Africa and can cause intense hallucinations, nausea, vomiting, tremors and, in some cases, deadly irregular heart rhythms.
Officials said ibogaine is currently illegal in the United States in an ultra-restrictive class that includes LSD, ecstasy and most other psychedelic drugs, and that previous U.S. research on the drug has been effectively frozen for decades due to its restricted status.
Kennedy said the government will receive data and treatment guidance from Beond Inc., a Texas-based company that has treated more than 3,000 patients with ibogaine in Mexico, where the drug is not illegal.
Kennedy said the approach would help “dramatically accelerate the clinical trial process.”
Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins said the effort would focus first on safety and “best-in-class research,” adding that the program is intended to serve veterans living with PTSD.
The announcement builds on an April executive order from President Donald Trump directing federal agencies to speed up review and research of psychedelics that could help with mental health conditions, with officials noting that several psychedelic-related applications are pending review at the Food and Drug Administration.
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