The psychoactive indole alkaloid ibogaine has been associated with encouraging treatment outcomes for opioid dependence. The legal status of ibogaine in New Zealand provides a unique opportunity to evaluate durability of treatment outcomes.
To examine longitudinal treatment effects over a 12-month period among individuals receiving legal ibogaine treatment for opioid dependence.
This observational study measured addiction severity as the primary outcome in 14 participants (50% female) over 12 months post-treatment using the Addiction Severity Index-Lite (ASI-Lite) following a single ibogaine treatment by either of two treatment providers. Secondary effects on depression were assessed via the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). The Subjective Opioid Withdrawal Scale (SOWS) was collected before and immediately after treatment to measure opioid withdrawal symptoms.
Nonparametric comparisons via Friedman Test between baseline and 12-month follow-up for participants completing all interviews (n = 8) showed a significant reduction for the ASI-Lite drug use (p = 0.002) composite score. Reductions in BDI-II scores from baseline to 12-month follow-up were also significant (p < 0.001). Significant reductions in SOWS scores for all participants (n = 14) were also observed acutely after treatment (p = 0.015). Patients with partial data (n = 4) also showed reductions in ASI-Lite drug use scores and family/social status problems. One patient enrolled in the study died during treatment.
A single ibogaine treatment reduced opioid withdrawal symptoms and achieved opioid cessation or sustained reduced use in dependent individuals as measured over 12 months. Ibogaine's legal availability in New Zealand may offer improved outcomes where legislation supports treatment providers to work closely with other health professionals.
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science
19
8%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
9
4%
Other
32
13%
Unknown
89
35%
Attention Score in Context
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1010. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 05 October 2026.
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#20,045
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Outputs from American Journal of Drug & Alcohol Abuse
#3
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#299
of 355,179 outputs
Outputs of similar age from American Journal of Drug & Alcohol Abuse
#1
of 16 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 34,528,520 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 99th percentile: it's in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 1,505 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 17.2. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 99% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 16 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 93% of its contemporaries.
