S2E42: Ibogaine Inquiries Part IV: Who Owns a Sacred Medicine?

For centuries, the people of Gabon protected iboga as a sacred medicine. Then a gift intended to help others changed everything.

In this episode, we trace Iboga's remarkable journey from colonial France to New York City, where a young man named Howard Lotsof discovered its potential to interrupt addiction and dedicated his life to bringing ibogaine into modern medicine. But as scientific interest grew, so did difficult questions about patents, ownership, and who should benefit from knowledge that had been safeguarded by Indigenous communities for generations.

Featuring conservationist Yann Guignon, filmmaker Lucy Walker, and Indigenous scholar Dr. Christine Dindisi, this episode explores the history that shaped today's iboga renaissance, and asks whether scientific progress and Indigenous stewardship can move forward together.

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A note to listeners: This series is intended to inform, not encourage the use of ibogaine. Ibogaine is a powerful psychoactive substance with serious medical risks and should never be used without thorough medical evaluation and appropriate supervision. As you'll hear throughout this series, increasing global demand has also had profound consequences for the Indigenous communities in Gabon who have safeguarded Iboga and its traditions for generations. We encourage you to listen to the full series before drawing conclusions or seeking out treatment.

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To support the indigenous peoples of Gabon, Africa and help protect the sacred Iboga plant, please visit https://blessingsoftheforest.org/ where you can learn about those who use this medicine ceremoniously, have for thousands of years, and whose access is in grave danger.

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