Treatment of opioid use disorder with ibogaine: detoxification and drug use outcomes
Against what baseline? Untreated withdrawal resolves and relapse is episodic — only a controlled trial can tell if ibogaine adds anything.
Weak or heavily disputed. Treat as a question, not an answer. how we score evidence
Caveat on this rating: The CONTESTED tier here reflects rock-bottom design score (uncontrolled, unregistered, self-report), not an active dispute; there is no controlled US evidence for ibogaine in opioid withdrawal at all.
No FDA efficacy trials — observational evidence only; documented cardiac (QT) risk. Texas SB 2308 (Jun 2025) funds an FDA-track trial program.
In 30 people with opioid dependence treated with ibogaine at Mexican clinics, subjective withdrawal scores fell sharply within ~3 days and 50% reported no opioid use at one month — self-reported, uncontrolled outcomes in a self-selected, paying population.
Worth asking
Against what baseline? Untreated withdrawal resolves and relapse is episodic — only a controlled trial can tell if ibogaine adds anything.
Source
Treatment of opioid use disorder with ibogaine: detoxification and drug use outcomes — Brown TK, Alper K. (2018)
Reputable peer-reviewed journal
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.1080/00952990.2017.1320802
DOI: 10.1080/00952990.2017.1320802
How this was scored
- Study design
- Case series or case report
- Funding
- Funding not disclosed
- Published in
- Reputable peer-reviewed journal
- Sample size
- 30
- Preregistered
- No
- Conflicts disclosed
- not recorded
- Independent of proponent
- not recorded
- Retracted
- No
Read the full scoring rubric, including what it can't tell you.
Published August 19, 2026.
Questions
How strong is the evidence behind this?
Resolv rates this source "contested". Weak or heavily disputed. Treat as a question, not an answer. It scores 34 out of 100 on our published rubric. One caveat travels with that badge: The CONTESTED tier here reflects rock-bottom design score (uncontrolled, unregistered, self-report), not an active dispute; there is no controlled US evidence for ibogaine in opioid withdrawal at all. The score is calculated from recorded facts about the source — study design, funding, publication venue, sample size, preregistration — not typed in by an editor.
What is the source for this?
Treatment of opioid use disorder with ibogaine: detoxification and drug use outcomes — Brown TK, Alper K. (2018). Published in: Reputable peer-reviewed journal. DOI: 10.1080/00952990.2017.1320802. The full source is linked on this page so you can read it yourself.
Who paid for this research, and does that matter?
Study design: Case series or case report. Funding: Funding not disclosed. Independence from the proponent is not recorded. Industry sponsorship is one of the most reliably measured biases in medicine, which is why funding carries real weight in the score rather than sitting in a footnote.
Is ibogaine FDA approved for this use?
No. Its current status is: Preclinical research. No FDA efficacy trials — observational evidence only; documented cardiac (QT) risk. Texas SB 2308 (Jun 2025) funds an FDA-track trial program.
Is this medical advice?
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.