Copyright 1993 Newsday, Inc.
Newsday
August 27, 1993, Friday, NASSAU AND SUFFOLK EDITION
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
PTS-ACC-NO: [Redacted]
PTS-LOAD-DATE: 1993 Week 37
LOAD-DATE-MDC: September 13, 1993
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 16
Other Edition: City Pg. 18
LENGTH: 146 words
HEADLINE: Crack Substitute Cited
BYLINE: COMPILED FROM NEWS DISPATCHES
BODY: A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee has recommended approval of the first official human tests of a controversial hallucinogenic drug, ibogaine, for use in curbing addiction to crack cocaine.
Proponents of the drug, led by Howard Lotsof of Staten Island, a self-described former drug user, have claimed that as little as one dose makes it easier for addicts to quit using heroin or cocaine. The drug produces a “trip” of vivid hallucinations that can last 25 hours.
Only a small study on 9 to 12 cocaine-dependent volunteers at the University of Miami was under consideration at Wednesday’s advisory committee hearing. The FDA usually goes along with such recommendations.
Ibogaine has been classified since 1967 as a drug like LSD, which means it has a high potential for abuse and no medical value. But proponents say it is not addictive.
