Ibogaine has been studied in people since the 1960s, mostly in small studies without a comparison group. Those studies suggest it can ease opioid withdrawal and craving quickly, and a 2024 Stanford study reported large improvements in veterans with brain injury. It also carries a real risk to the heart, and no large controlled trial has yet confirmed its benefits.
We are a treatment centre that provides ibogaine, so we have a stake in how this research is read. That is exactly why this page puts the limits of each study next to its findings, and links to the original so you can judge for yourself.
What has research found in people?
It depends on the question, and on how each study was designed. Here is what the human research shows, topic by topic.
Opioid withdrawal and craving
The oldest data come from a retrospective series of 33 people treated outside medical settings between 1962 and 1993. In 25 of them, observers saw no signs of withdrawal 24 and 48 hours after the dose (Alper et al. 1999, retrospective case series).
Later studies that followed people forward in time, at clinics in Mexico and St. Kitts, found the same early pattern: withdrawal and craving scores fell sharply within two to three days (Malcolm et al. 2018, 50 people; Mash et al. 2018, an observational case series of 191 people, 102 dependent on opioids and 89 on cocaine; Brown & Alper 2018, 30 people). None of these studies had a control group.
What happens afterwards matters just as much. In the Brown & Alper study, half of the participants reported no opioid use one month after treatment; at twelve months, about one in four did (card). A strong early effect followed, for many, by gradual relapse: that is the honest shape of the evidence so far, and the reason the work after treatment is not optional.
Other substances
A retrospective study from Brazil looked at 75 people, most of them using several substances (alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, crack), who received ibogaine under a physician's supervision alongside psychotherapy. Most reported abstinence afterwards, and those treated more than once stayed abstinent longer (Schenberg et al. 2014, retrospective, no control group).
Brain injury, PTSD and depression in veterans
A widely cited recent study comes from Stanford. Thirty male veterans of US Special Operations, most with mild traumatic brain injury, received oral ibogaine with intravenous magnesium and continuous ECG monitoring at a clinic in Mexico. One month later their scores for disability, PTSD, depression and anxiety had fallen by a large margin, and no serious cardiac events were reported (MISTIC, Nature Medicine 2024, open-label, no control group).
At twelve months, 25 of the 30 were followed up and most of the improvement was still there. But most participants had also used other psychedelic treatments in that year, so the lasting change cannot be credited to ibogaine alone (12-month follow-up, 2026). A third paper analysed what the veterans wrote about the experience: traumatic memories being re-processed, the usual sense of self loosening, sudden emotional resolution and vivid bodily sensations (subjective experience, 2026, qualitative).
Looking across all the studies
A systematic review of the literature up to December 2020 found 24 studies with 705 participants. Only two were randomized and blinded. It concluded that ibogaine reduced withdrawal and craving and may help with depression and trauma symptoms, and asked for rigorous studies in medical settings (Köck et al. 2022, systematic review).
How strong is the evidence?
The research is young. Most studies so far are small, with no group to compare with. Much of what we know comes from what people told the researchers. Even so, what these first studies saw was enough for universities in several countries to open trials of their own. Each card below says what kind of study it is, so you can judge for yourself.
What are the risks?
The main known risk is to the heart. Ibogaine, and for longer its metabolite noribogaine, block a potassium channel in heart cells called hERG. This delays the heart's electrical recovery after each beat, which shows on an ECG as a longer QTc interval and can trigger a dangerous rhythm called torsades de pointes (Koenig & Hilber 2015; Esperança et al. 2026). Low potassium, some medicines and drugs, and existing heart disease raise the risk.
People also process ibogaine very differently. In a 2024 study of 14 people with opioid use disorder, the speed at which they cleared it varied more than tenfold, depending on a liver enzyme called CYP2D6, and the QTc interval lengthened as blood levels rose (Knuijver et al. 2024).
Deaths have occurred. Reported totals differ by source and by the years they cover, so we do not give a single number here. In the United States ibogaine is a Schedule I substance. It should never be taken without full medical screening, an ECG and close medical supervision. How our medical screening works.
Which ibogaine clinical trials are running now?
Clinical trial registries record each study and its status. This table was last checked on 10 October 2026.
| Registry ID | Sponsor / site | Who is studied | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| NCT07226570 (MIND-OUD) | UC Irvine | Opioid use disorder, brain imaging | Recruiting |
| NCT04313712 | Stanford | Veterans with traumatic brain injury (MISTIC) | Active, not recruiting |
| NCT05029401 | atai (DMX-1002, oral ibogaine), Manchester | Opioid withdrawal, Phase 1/2a | Completed |
| NCT03380728 | University of São Paulo | Alcohol use disorder, Phase 2 | Completed (2024). Results published as an open-label pilot with 9 participants (Rocha et al., Trends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, 2026); none posted in the registry |
| NCT04003948 | ICEERS, Reus (Spain) | People on methadone, Phase 2 | Completed (2024); results not yet published (as of May 2026) |
| NCT06810765 (Trifecta) | Johns Hopkins | PTSD and traumatic brain injury | Withdrawn |
We are not involved in any of these trials. Each trial sets its own eligibility criteria; you can search the registry yourself at ClinicalTrials.gov. What a registry entry does and does not tell you.
How does ibogaine work in the brain?
No one yet knows exactly how ibogaine produces the effects people report. What is known: it acts on many targets in the brain at once; the body turns it into noribogaine, whose half-life is roughly one to two days (28 to 49 hours), so it stays in the body for several days (Glue et al. 2015; MAPS Investigator's Brochure, July 2026); and in adult mice it reopened a kind of brain plasticity normally seen only in the young (Acuña et al. 2026, in mice). Most plasticity findings so far come from animals. How does ibogaine work in the brain?
How we choose and summarize sources
Every source in our library has its own card: the full citation, a link to the original, how open it is to read, the type of study and its evidence level, a summary in our own words and, always, its limits. We do not host articles, and we never link to unauthorized copies. A physician reviews and dates each summary, and we review this page every month. IbogaQuest is a treatment centre that provides ibogaine. We have no role in the studies summarized here and receive no funding from their authors. Read our full sourcing policy.
Explore by topic
- Research library: every source, explained
- How does ibogaine work in the brain?
- Ibogaine and the heart: QTc, risk and screening
Is this research about you?
Studies describe groups; they cannot tell you whether ibogaine is right for you. Ibogaine is not for everyone, and the medical screening exists to find out. Wondering how this research applies to your situation? Ask our medical team. If you have read enough and want to begin, start an application.
Frequently asked questions
Is ibogaine approved by the FDA?
No. The FDA has not approved ibogaine for any medical use, and under US federal law it is a Schedule I substance. Is ibogaine legal in the US?
Has ibogaine been tested in randomized controlled trials?
Only in small ones. A 2026 review counted three randomized trials in the whole field: a small pilot in cocaine use, a safety study of noribogaine in healthy volunteers, and a noribogaine study in people dependent on opioids. None was large enough to confirm a benefit (Sharma et al. 2026; Köck et al. 2022).
What did the Stanford ibogaine study find?
The study, led by a Stanford team under Nolan Williams and published in Nature Medicine in 2024, treated 30 male Special Operations veterans with mostly mild brain injury. One month later, their disability, PTSD, depression and anxiety scores had fallen sharply, with no serious cardiac events reported. It had no control group and included only men, and a 2026 critique questions whether it followed its registered plan. At twelve months most gains remained, but most participants had used other psychedelics in the meantime (2024 study; 12-month follow-up).
Why are researchers interested in ibogaine?
Because early studies saw changes that lasted months after a single treatment. In a Stanford study, 30 veterans with brain injuries were doing far better in daily life a month after one treatment, and a year later they were still far from where they had started. Ibogaine seems to act on many brain systems at once. Researchers want to know why. So do we.
Can I join an ibogaine clinical trial?
Possibly, if a trial is recruiting and you meet its criteria, which each trial sets for itself. At our last check, one ibogaine study was recruiting, at UC Irvine, in opioid use disorder. You can search current trials at ClinicalTrials.gov. We do not recruit for these trials.
Medically reviewed by Dr. Juan Moller · Last reviewed 10 October 2026 · How we choose sources
This page is information, not medical advice. Ibogaine is a Schedule I substance in the United States, carries cardiac risks and requires medical supervision.