Texas to spend millions on psychedelic research
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Texas plans to spend $50 million on research examining the effects of a psychedelic drug called Ibogaine on behavioral health conditions.
Why it matters: Ibogaine remains illegal in the U.S., but its advocates hope Texas' research will push it toward FDA approval, saying it can help veterans with PTSD and other mental illnesses.
- The effort is the largest state-funded psychedelic research initiative, per the Texas Ibogaine Initiative.
How it works: Ibogaine is a psychoactive compound found in a plant native to parts of Africa. The compound's effects depend on its potency.
- Researchers have found that various forms of Ibogaine can help veterans with traumatic brain injuries and people experiencing addiction or depression.
State of play: The U.S. outlawed Ibogaine and other psychotropic drugs, including LSD and mushrooms, in 1967.
- Some U.S. veterans have sought psychedelic therapy abroad.
The intrigue: Former Gov. Rick Perry and his wife learned about psychedelics as medicine while caring for a Navy SEAL veteran who was severely injured while serving in Afghanistan, per the Texas Standard.
- Ibogaine therapy in Mexico helped the veteran recover from opioid addiction. Perry now advocates the therapy for veterans.
Reality check: Ibogaine must go through FDA-approved clinical trials before it can be used for treatment.
- It has been associated with cardiac arrest and seizures.
What they're doing: Texas plans to pay for its Ibogaine research through a public-private partnership involving a state university, drug company and hospital.
- "This is about restoration. It's about the opportunity to restore the lives of so many veterans that have put their lives on the line for us … and have suffered as a result," state Sen. Tan Parker, a Flower Mound Republican who authored the research bill, said after Gov. Greg Abbott signed the legislation.
Worthy of your time: This Texas Standard series examining psychedelics and the "Texas Trip."