Kentucky Public Hearing Highlights Statements from Ibogaine Patients

The Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission held a public hearing on September 15 and invited a variety of people to speak about a plan to use ibogaine to treat addiction.

Over a five-hour period, personal testimonies were presented from 23 people, including military veterans, parents, professors and many others who have witnessed the use of ibogaine in some way.

Ben Chandler, who served as Kentucky’s attorney general from 1995 to 2003 and also held a position as a House representative from 2004 to 2013. Now president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, he was the first to speak at the hearing. He explained his close connection to the harms of the opioid crisis, whose cousin committed suicide at age 30 due to drug addiction. He also spoke about his brother, who died of a fentanyl overdose earlier this year. “In my opinion, we haven’t been able to solve the problem,” Chandler said of the opioid crisis. “It continues to be stubborn and we need as many tools as we can get. And I believe that a drug like ibogaine, from what I’ve read, has the potential to make the difference we need to make – or at least a big difference.”

Jerry Catlett, the parent of an ibogaine patient, explained his initial thoughts about ibogaine, describing it as “just another gimmick” until he saw how it helped his son recover from opioid use disorder. “My wife and I had already come to the conclusion that our son was a dead man walking,” Catlett said. “[My son] tells me that within minutes of treatment he was no longer addicted to opioids. Six months later he sought further treatment. Today he is still free of opioid addiction.”

Former Texas Governor Rick Perry was also in attendance and explained the benefits of ibogaine for combat veterans, including Texas Rep. Morgan Luttrell and his own brother. “Why wouldn’t we thoroughly investigate these breakthrough treatments, given their potential to achieve curative outcomes not achievable with existing pharmacology?” Perry said. “You have an opportunity for Kentucky to lead the nation in research into this potentially revolutionary new treatment. I stand before you today not as a political figure, but as a fellow human being and ask you to reflect on the amazingly positive potential of ibogaine research.”

Many more personal testimonies were shared, as seen in the full video here. In a closing statement, Commission Chairman and Executive Director W. Bryan Hubbard thanked everyone for their participation, especially the military veterans “…who were willing to risk everything for us and did so again today with heartfelt candor.”

Back in May, the commission announced its plans to consider treatments for opioid use disorder. “Kentucky must overcome the opioid epidemic by any means necessary,” Hubbard said in a press release at the time. “As we begin the next phase of our fight against this crisis, we must explore every treatment option that has breakthrough therapeutic potential. Our goal is to explore creating a new standard for treating opioid addiction so that we can finally end this cycle of pain in the commonwealth.” The press release stated that overdose deaths decreased by 5% in 2022 but has still increased by 60% since 2019. Since 2020, 7,665 Kentuckians have died as a result of an overdose.

At that time, Hubbard announced that the Commission planned to “explore the possibility of allocating no less than $42 million over the next six years to establish public-private partnerships that can fully promote, support and advance the development of ibogaine.” .” the FDA approval process.” The funds come from a $26 billion settlement between several states and local governments and major pharmaceutical companies that helped create the opioid crisis.

These public hearings will help the commission make a decision on how to invest the $42 million, and it is expected to make a decision in November.

In May, the University of Kentucky (UK) opened a cannabis center dedicated to cannabis research. The university awarded its “first pilot faculty grants to support innovative and collaborative cannabis research.”

Shanna Babalonis, the Cannabis Center’s director, hopes the research will help the state’s residents. “We are excited about this opportunity to expand and accelerate cannabis science in the UK and conduct studies focused on the public health impacts of cannabis that can directly impact the lives of Kentuckians,” Babalonis said . “We have talented and committed researchers from various disciplines here on campus who can make significant scientific contributions to the center from different perspectives.”

In June, lawmakers introduced HR-3684, also known as the Douglas Mike Day Psychedelic Therapy to Save Lives Act of 2023. The bill honors an attorney and military veteran who died earlier this year. If passed, it would fund studies on psilocybin, ibogaine, MDMA and 5-MeO-DMT and their effectiveness in treating various medical conditions.