State-based research and clinical trials

• After years of advocacy by veterans’ organizations and researchers, a bipartisan coalition of state legislators in Texas voted to fund ibogaine research programs (Texas Senate Bill 2308). In 2025, Texas launched a multimillion-dollar endeavor that will allow any state that enacts the VMHI to join the effort on ibogaine clinical trials.
• The most effective way to ensure those in need benefit from ibogaine is to conduct clinical trials using ibogaine as an investigational new drug. Clinical trials are a costly and lengthy endeavor for any one entity, but through VMHI, multiple states will conduct their own local trials, advancing a single unified application to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
• Under the VMHI, each participating state selects and funds a research grantee of their choice to conduct ibogaine clinical trials locally with in-state participants.

Multistate collaboration and shared success

• A multistate consortium allows states with limited resources to take part in what could be nearly a billion-dollar endeavor. This public effort to conduct FDA-approved clinical trials will be in partnership with a private drug developer, which will assume financial risk and responsibility for advancing the treatment through the clinical trial process. 
• Under VHMI, states retain the long-term benefits of the research they fund. Instead of handing over value to pharmaceutical companies, the bill keeps the research and development process rooted locally and ensures states are compensated if an application is successful.

Federal government and the role of the FDA

• Ibogaine is deemed a Schedule I drug by the federal government. Engaging in FDA-approved research is the surest way to prove its medicinal and treatment value.
• Once ibogaine is approved by the FDA to treat a medical condition, the VMHI would allow licensed physicians to prescribe ibogaine administration for a patient under supervision.
• The VMHI leaves direct engagement with the FDA to the drug developer, eliminating the need for states to navigate the complex clinical trial application process.

The model legislation for the Veterans Mental Health Innovations Act is available below. The template is designed to be easily adapted by states, with the sections that need customization highlighted.

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• According to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) annual report on suicide prevention, there are an average of 17.6 veteran suicides a day, indicating a significant gap between available mental healthcare and veterans’ needs. Some advocacy groups estimate the true number is closer to 44 Veterans a day when accounting for overdose deaths and other self-destructive behaviors linked to untreated trauma.
• VA has a backlog in mental healthcare services due to over 1.7 million veterans with only about 10,000 psychologists and psychiatrists to treat them.
• Veterans wait an indeterminable amount of time to secure an appointment and receive limited care if they are deemed “functionally stable.” Many current or former VA clinical psychologists report great pressure to cap individual therapy sessions to vets deemed “functionally stable.”
• VA works with veterans over 8-15 initial therapy sessions, then offloads the patient back to primary care as they are deemed “functionally stable.” However, many veterans only reach “functional stability” temporarily during the therapy sequence and decline once services are discontinued.

Current PTSD treatment = lifetime sentence of medication

• While selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are considered a common and safe treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)—and are routinely prescribed to veterans on a daily, perpetual basis—many experts and PTSD patients report that SSRIs have limited efficacy and effectiveness.
• Many veterans are prescribed multiple psychotropic drugs, receiving prescriptions for medication after medication that do not solve the underlying condition(s).
• This breakdown breeds mistrust and despair, as Veterans begin to wonder not only if they can recover, but if the system meant to help them is even capable of healing them.

One ibogaine treatment can replace a lifetime of medication

• Ibogaine is an extract of Tabernanthe iboga, a Central African shrub, and is a psychoactive compound that has long been used in spiritual practices and shows promising results in mental health treatments.
• Ibogaine’s Schedule I status in the U.S. has forced thousands of American Veterans to seek treatment abroad—most often in Mexico, where ibogaine is unregulated and available through private clinics.
• The profound results of ibogaine are seen in the study done by Stanford Medicine, showing an 88% decrease in PTSD symptoms, 87% in depression symptoms, and 81% in anxiety symptoms one month after an ibogaine treatment in a cohort of 30 special operations veterans with a history of traumatic brain injuries (TBI).
• Additional trial results published in Nature Medicine showed significant improvements in concentration, information processing, memory, and impulse control following ibogaine treatment.

Bottom line

Promising breakthrough treatments like ibogaine can provide military veterans with PTSD and other mental health conditions by eliminating the need to take medication every day and targeting the root conditions driving suicidal ideation, hyper-aggression, depression, or the many other conditions many veterans face.

Read the full Backgrounder:

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Current treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)—including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)—achieve only 30–40% remission rates, with many patients discontinuing treatment early, limited long-term efficacy, and significant side effects, particularly for those with treatment-resistant cases.

Association for Psychological Science (2021): “Approximately two-thirds of veterans with PTSD remain with the disorder following treatment. […] Treatments for veterans with PTSD show limited overall effectiveness in real-world settings.”

Promise of ibogaine

Psychological Healing occurs through the boosts in neurotrophic factors to promote neural regeneration and repair, profoundly revolutionizing the approach to treatment for addiction, traumatic brain injuries (TBI), and neurodegenerative diseases.

Research by Stanford University published in Nature Medicine in 2024 found that ibogaine treatment led to significant improvement in a cohort of 30 veterans. After one month of following treatment, these participants experienced average reductions of 88% of PTSD symptoms, 87% in depression symptoms, and 81% in anxiety symptoms relative to their initial conditions. The results held at 6 months. In a small-scale study, 75% of patients remained abstinent from opioids for an entire year following treatment.

Typical ibogaine treatment protocol

A standard ibogaine treatment protocol consists of a 5 to 10-day inpatient program conducted in a medically supervised environment. Participants undergo comprehensive medical evaluation, safety preparation, and therapeutic support prior to treatment, followed by a recommended 12 months of ongoing, structured integration and support services.

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