Copyright 1993 Phoenix Newspapers, Inc.
THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC
August 29, 1993 Sunday, Final Chaser
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE-MDC: December 21, 1993
SECTION: FRONT; Pg. A10
LENGTH: 156 words
HEADLINE: WEST AFRICAN DRUG APPROVED FOR TEST AS CURE FOR ADDICTION
BYLINE: The Miami Herald
DATELINE: MIAMI
BODY: Researchers at the University of Miami are preparing to conduct the first scientific human experiments in this country on a drug that potentially could cure cocaine, heroin and alcohol addiction.
The drug, ibogaine, is found in the root of a West African iboga plant, and was used in ritual tribal ceremonies dating back to 1864.
Ibogaine was popular on the streets of San Francisco and New York before the federal government classified it as a Schedule 1 drug, a category designating that the drug has no medical use, in 1970. Most recently, addicts in the Netherlands have reported success with the drug.
Lead researcher Juan Sanchez-Ramos cautioned that ibogaine’s potential as a treatment for drug or alcohol addiction could not be determined until it had been properly tested.
The University of Miami team of researchers last week won approval from the Food and Drug Administration to test ibogaine on humans.
