Experience Ibogaine Treatment Center

Experience Ibogaine Treatment Center runs an ibogaine clinic in Playas de Tijuana, Mexico, overlooking the Pacific. It mainly treats drug and alcohol dependence, and also takes people with PTSD, anxiety or depression. The clinic says it has been running for more than 12 years and has treated over 2,500 patients.

Approach

Its founder, Aeden, was treated with ibogaine for heroin addiction in Mexico in 2012. Treatment is overseen by a head doctor, Dr Paul Casillas. After test doses and a half-day fast, ibogaine is given overnight in a private room, on a heart monitor, with staff just outside the door. One-to-one therapy comes before and after, and each stay ends with a guided 5-MeO-DMT session.

Who it is for

The clinic works with dependence on heroin, fentanyl and other opioids, methadone, buprenorphine, methamphetamine, cocaine and alcohol. Patients must be between 21 and 55, with a BMI of 35 or less, and off most antidepressants for at least a month.

Practical details

Transfers from and to San Diego airport are included. Stays run from five days to a month or more. Prices are not published; they depend on the programme, the length of stay and the medication needed, with discounts for veterans and first responders. A non-refundable deposit holds a bed. Consultations are in English or Spanish.

Care and safety

The head doctor reviews each application, and applicants over 50 must send an electrocardiogram and liver and lipid blood tests, and people with alcohol dependence a recent liver panel. On arrival come a urine screen, nurse and doctor intakes, and liver and heart tests; anyone found unfit is sent home with a full refund. Patients leave with two ibogaine boosters and two follow-up therapy sessions. The clinic notes that ibogaine is unscheduled in Mexico, and presents it as a head start on recovery rather than an end to addiction.