President Donald Trump said the University of Miami has given the federal government its original 1994 ibogaine Investigational New Drug application.
The application will give “everyone direct access to the foundational FDA authorization to accelerate its development as a medical treatment in the U.S.,” according to an Aug. 18 post on Truth Social. The drug is being studied for use in individuals with substance use disorder, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, particularly among veterans.
The plant-based psychoactive compound ibogaine was classified as a Schedule I controlled substance by the federal government in 1970 due to its high potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical use. The classification makes the drug “illegal outside of specially approved research settings,” according to the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics.
President Trump signed an executive order in April to accelerate medical treatments for serious mental illness, including psychedelic drugs and ibogaine. Texas is moving forward with its own ibogaine research program, while Mississippi is funding clinical trials.
Becker’s has reached out to the University of Miami for comment and will update this story if more information becomes available.
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