HALLUCINOGEN SAID TO CURE DRUG ADDICTION

A powerful hallucinogenic drug that has been linked to dozens of deaths
around the world is becoming increasingly popular among Britain's heroin and
crack users, who believe it can offer an instant, painless cure for their
addictions.

Extracted from the root bark of a west African plant, ibogaine has been used
in spiritual rituals in parts of Gabon, where it is said to open up
ancestral memories and enable people to re-evaluate life experiences. It is
banned in the US, Belgium and Switzerland but legal in the UK, where it is
classified as an unlicensed, experimental medicine. Concerns over its safety
and high price have limited its popularity.

But Observer investigations reveal an increasing number of mail-order
outlets supplying British addicts with an extract of ibogaine at $US30 a
gram. Tourists are also bringing it back from Amsterdam, where it is openly
available.

Only a few countries, including Panama, Costa Rica and Italy, have clinics
that administer ibogaine under scientific conditions. In Britain, many users
are taking the drug in their own homes under the supervision of friends or
other addicts.

Earlier this month an inquest opened into the case of a London man who died
after ingesting ibogaine. His may be the first death in the UK related to
the use of the substance and represents a setback to those who want it used
more widely.

"People say it is like having 10 therapy sessions all at once," says Chris
Sanders of the Ibogaine Project, a UK-based initiative campaigning for more
research into ibogaine's potential benefits.

"It's often called a wonder drug but the reality is that it's not a total
cure in itself, just a way of giving an addict a fresh start. It has a
powerful effect on the body - you need to be fit to be treated with it. I
can't say I'm happy about people using it on their own." Sanders believes
deaths linked with ibogaine have occurred when users "cured" of their
addiction return to using drugs. Because ibogaine "resets" many brain
functions relating to drug use, users who take their usual dosage soon after
treatment risk overdosing. The only major clinical trial of ibogaine, in
Amsterdam in the early '90s, was abandoned after an addict died of an
overdose after being treated.

While even ibogaine's strongest supporters admit there are dangers, those
who have been treated with it are almost evangelical about it. They claim
that, as well as curing addiction to drugs, alcohol and tobacco, it can
ameliorate other psychological disorders.

The effect of the drug varies according to the dose. Less than 1g produces
stimulant and aphrodisiac effects. Up to 3g produces a euphoric trip, during
which the user may experience hallucinations. Up to 6g, the maximum safe
dosage, produces powerful near-death and other deep spiritual experiences.
Those taking the highest doses report that they first enter a dream-like
phase that consists of vivid visions of past memories, almost as if they
were watching a film of their own lives. A second phase consists of high
levels of analytical mental activity. Many users report that, during this
phase, they comprehend for the first time why they drifted into drug-using.

Dr Colin Brewer, who runs a specialist addition clinic in London, the
Stapleford Centre, is sceptical about the drug. "It has an enormous placebo
effect and, in that sense, has more to do with voodoo than pharmacology. In
order to evaluate it, you would have to conduct experiments alongside
another drug like LSD, which no-one is going to risk because of the harm it
can do."