Ibogaine
Recently I read Breaking Open The Head by Daniel Pinchbeck. First of all, let me say this was an amazing book if you are at all interested in psychedelics. While some of what Pinchbeck has to say seems really out there for those outside of the psychedelic community (and probably for some of you who are part of the psychedelic community), it really has a lot to say about the potential for these substances as means for spiritual exploration and psychoanalysis.
He mentions a natural psychedelic used in African tribes called ibogaine. Considering myself pretty well-versed in most of the major psychedelics, I was rather intriguied by this as I've not heard about it before. This plant greatly demonstrates the medicinal and beneficial uses of these psychedelics. It has been shown to have tremendous use for treating addiction to cocaine, heroin, and other opiates. The drug does produce hallucinations and the actual session can take upwards of 18 to 36 hours. The substance is often used as part of a ritual for coming of age, however, since westerners have started investigating these tribal societies the use of the drug has reached much more wide-spread use. While the drug does seem to have strong potential for treating addictions and withdrawl symptoms, the drug remains illegal and very ltitel research is currently being conducted on it. It has been attributed as the cause to several deaths, but in the context of the whole I believe the benefits outway the risks. It has even been said that ibogaine "[condenses] 10 years of therapy into one night."
If you're interested in reading more about ibogaine, I've provided several links. I might expand on this entry in the future.
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