Today, community support group Wellness Empathy Kindness Aotearoa (Weka) is hosting a talk on the drug ibogaine, one in a series of discussions on psychedelic research.
Dunedin researcher and presenter Wayne Meighan said ibogaine had a ‘‘liminal kind of approval’’ in New Zealand — it was approved as a prescription medicine but medical professionals rarely had the guidelines or support to prescribe it, he said.
‘‘It’s not a drug that regulatory frameworks handled that well.’’
He said ibogaine, an extract of root bark of a plant from the Central African rainforest, showed great promise as an ‘‘addiction interrupter’’ to ease opiate withdrawal symptoms. He stressed it did require medical supervision, as there was risk of fatal heart arrhythmia.
In 2013, a patient died during ibogaine treatment in Kerikeri — the health and disability commissioner found there was a strong possibility their death was linked to the drug, and censured the doctor for failing to ensure the patient was fully informed of the risks.
Today’s talk also draws from the work of Tanea Paterson and Weka founder Matthew Peppercorn, who had been part of Dunedin’s ibogaine service.
The ‘‘pioneering’’ service was rolled back following the death in Kerikeri, although there was no connection between the services, Mr Peppercorn said.
Mr Meighan said ibogaine represented a recurring problem in pharmacology — ‘‘these complicated drugs have these unique treatment effects ... but carry more risk and side effects at the same time’’, he said.
‘‘There’s no easy way to untangle those two things at the moment.
‘‘I think of it as a community struggling with addiction and looking for new options, trying to legitimise the practice within a medical framework, and that’s a conversation for new possibilities for more dialogue between the two.’’
Ms Paterson said she had used ibogaine in Australia, during an underground treatment to get off methadone.
She said it was very effective, and while structures still existed for its prescription in New Zealand, she was not aware of anyone prescribing or working with it ‘‘because it’s still seen as pretty fringe and there are some risks with it’’.
The drug would have little interest from recreational users because taking it was a fairly ‘‘harrowing’’ experience, she said.
The free presentation will be held at 160 Crawford St, from 6pm to 8pm today.
