Colorado is moving toward becoming the first state to allow legal, licensed ibogaine therapy. The naturally-derived psychedelic shows some promise for treating substance use disorders, mental health conditions and more. Its therapeutic use has some political support in the state. But it comes with a particular set of medical and safety risks that pose some practical and ethical questions.
Colorado voters in 2022 approved a series of psychedelic reforms at the ballot, including decriminalizing use and possession of most naturally occurring substances (psilocybin, DMT, ibogaine, mescaline) and creating a legal model for people to receive psychedelic services. Though broader, it’s a similar model in many ways to Oregon, where voters in 2020 legalized psilocybin services, with a licensing system.
While psilocybin was prioritized, the state allows regulators to consider similar steps for DMT, mescaline and particularly ibogaine—which lawmakers opted to fast-track.
In Colorado, legal psilocybin clinics opened their doors earlier in 2025. But while psilocybin was prioritized under the voter-approved law, the state allows regulators to consider similar steps for DMT, mescaline and particularly ibogaine—which lawmakers opted to fast-track. A bill passed by the legislature in 2023 allows state officials to decide at any time to authorize ibogaine services, whereas regulators can’t consider DMT and mescaline until 2026.
A spokesperson for the state’s Natural Medicine Division, responsible for psychedelics, reported that Colorado’s Natural Medicine Advisory Board first discussed the possibility at its June 12 meeting, according to the Colorado Sun, but several issues remained outstanding.
The advisory board—created by the 2022 law and comprised of health care representatives, Indigenous practitioners, and other experts and stakeholders—provides recommendations to the state government about how to proceed with psychedelic regulation. An advisory-board recommendation is required before anything can begin with ibogaine. But it’s significant that Governor Jared Polis (D) seems open to the idea. “We’re looking at opportunities to consider adding ibogaine treatments as efficiently as possible,” he told the Psychedelic Science conference, which took place in Denver in June.
Ibogaine derives from the Tabernanthe iboga plant, a shrub native to Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo in Central Africa, and which plays a spiritual role in the Bwiti practice there. In the US, ibogaine has attracted attention more for its potential therapeutic properties. It has a reported ability to treat opioid use disorder by temporarily providing relief from cravings and withdrawal symptoms through a long and intense psychedelic trip. The idea of ibogaine as an addiction treatment was championed in the US by Howard Lotsof, a former heroin user who observed its effects in 1962 and remained a lifelong advocate.
However, the drug has attracted controversy because of safety risks that are often not well understood by users or providers. Potential cardiac side effects include arrhythmias, though supervision and monitoring can reduce the risks. A small number of deaths have been associated with ibogaine use, though mostly in people with advanced preexisting cardiovascular conditions.
“There are numerous reports in the scientific literature of people having fatal cardiac events after taking ibogaine,” states the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics. “Other side effects range from nausea and tremors to (less commonly) psychosis and mania to seizures and comas. Because ibogaine can affect the heartbeat, it can be particularly risky for people with preexisting cardiac problems or when mixed with other drugs.”
if Colorado authorizes ibogaine, it would be a historic and game-changing move in the US, which other states might well follow. One candidate to do that is Texas.
The UC Berkeley Center also shares some of the notable research on ibogaine, including an observational study where a single ibogaine treatment reduced opioid withdrawal symptoms, and achieved abstinence or reduced use, over a 12-month period for individuals with opioid use disorder. A literature review meanwhile examined 24 studies, finding evidence that the drug is effective at treating substance use disorder as well as depression and trauma-related symptoms. And in 2024, Stanford Medicine published its own research showing that for 30 US Special Forces veterans, ibogaine was effective at treating PTSD, anxiety and depression, while improving functioning for patients with traumatic brain injuries.
Part of the problem here is the legal status of ibogaine. It’s currently classified as a Schedule I narcotic under the Controlled Substances Act, a status which makes any medical use illegal and poses significant barriers even for clinical research. When there are no legal ibogaine clinics in the US, people in search of the therapy have to travel to countries such as Mexico or South Africa.
So if Colorado authorizes ibogaine, it would be a historic and game-changing move in the US, which other states might well follow.
One candidate to do that is Texas, which is now moving ahead with a major investment in its own ibogaine research program. With a conservative governor and Republican-controlled legislature, the state isn’t know for progressive drug policies; even medical marijuana remains restricted, with adult use banned.
But in June, Governor Greg Abbott (R) signed into law a bill authorizing a list of universities, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies to conduct clinical trials with ibogaine, and appropriating $50 million to help fund it. Lawmakers made sure the state itself would benefit directly, by ensuring 20 percent of future revenue from a successful ibogaine treatment be retained by the state, with a portion set aside in a fund for military veterans.
The Texas Tribune credits this momentum in part to the advocacy of Rick Perry, the former governor and former Trump cabinet official. Perry, who admits to having other anti-drug views, said he was convinced during his time as governor, when he spoke to a former Navy SEAL with PTSD who traveled to Mexico for ibogaine treatment.
In 2021, Texas lawmakers approved approved a clinical research initiative looking at psilocybin, ketamine and and MDMA for veterans, in a law that took effect without Gov. Abbott’s signature.
Photograph of ibogaine powder by Kgjerstad via WikiMedia Commons/Creative Commons 2.0
