In 'Hallucinogen cure for addicts linked to deaths' (News, 7 January) the
'ibogaine' that you quote price and dosage for is not ibogaine itself, but
an extract of the rootbark of the plant source, the rainforest shrub
Tabernanthe iboga.

This product is usually known as the 'Indra iboga extract' and is a complex
mixture of the alkaloids that occur in the rootbark of the Tabernanthe
iboga plant. It is scientifically recognised that there are more than 10
active alkaloids present in the rootbark, ibogaine itself being merely one.

This extract was produced in great quantity in Denmark in the mid-Eighties,
whence it has made its way across Europe and, in scientific analysis, has
been found to contain levels of actual ibogaine varying between 0 and 8 per
cent.

This product is simply not ibogaine.

Nick Sandberg, website owner www.ibogaine.co.uk

London, W1