The Bwiti believe that before the ceremony, the neophyte is nothing,” Daniel Lieberman told me on my first morning in Gabon, as we took a cab from the Libreville airport. “It is only through the initiation that you become something.”
“What do you become?” I asked.
“You become a baanzi. One who knows the other world, because you have seen it with your own eyes.”
“What do the Bwiti think of iboga?” I asked.
Lieberman barely hesitated. “For them, iboga is a super-conscious spiritual entity that guides mankind”.
‘Breaking Open the Head’
By Daniel Pinchbeck
A Brief History of Ibogaine in the West
The story goes that in 1960’s New York a young heroin addict named Howard Lotsof was visiting a chemist friend of his who collected psychedelics, including ibogaine.
Howard wanted to try the unknown psychedelic and took a dose. It must’ve been a strong dose because he came round a few days later. Walking home he realised that he hadn’t used heroin for days, that he was no longer dependent on opiates, that he had not suffered any withdrawal pains, and had no strong desire to continue taking them.
“The next thing I knew,”
he told The New York Times in 1994,
“I was straight.”
Howard Lotsoff
He couldn’t believe what had happened…. He was free of opiates. Thinking it must’ve been to do with the ibogaine he gathered up several of his heroin addict friends and dosed them with the same compound. They all experienced the same thing. Pain free withdrawal and no urgent need to return to the drug.
He had several attempts at approaching the pharmaceutical companies, but they weren’t interested “We can’t make money out of ibogaine”. Opiate replacement scripts like methadone and subutex / bupernorphine make big money for the pharmaceutical companies. It’s thought that the vested interests of these pharmaceutical companies has influenced ibogaine’s legal status in many countries with big pharma lobby groups putting pressure on governments to make it illegal. They are trying to protect their cash cows, regardless that ibogaine could be saving lives.
Howard Lotsof went on to write the Ibogaine Dossier, which was the main manual on administering ibogaine and widely used in addict self help networks and underground providers around the world, until recently (now The Global Ibogaine Alliance have released a new set of clinical guidelines), which has been modified and added to informed from the clinical trials and experience of ibogaine providers over the years.
“Afterwards, I was walking and I looked at this tree, and as I looked at it I realized I no longer had any fear of death. Also that I was no longer addicted to narcotics.”
– Howard Lotsof, describing his first ibogaine experience
For hundreds of years practitioners of Bwiti (and Pygmies in the jungles of Central Africa) have used iboga as an important part of their spiritual and community life. Bwiti is a religious group in central west Africa, primarily in Gabon, where iboga grows.
Iboga is a deeply psychoactive entheogen that the Bwiti use for several reasons, ceremonys, shamanic journeys, celebrations and once in their lifetime in a large, trip-inducing dose as an initiatory experience.
Most of this website content was written by Rich Hughes, as well as the website creation itself.
In the photo to the left, he is the man on the right hand side.
He worked and volunteered for more than 5 years at various ibogaine detox clinics in México and Portugal before striking out on his own in Spain, his clinic is called Madera Sagrada which is Spanish for sacred wood, the indigenous Bwiti name for iboga.
During this time he has experienced the good, the bad and the ugly of ibogaine treatment; from the countless dozens who gained their freedom and even witnessing a death whilst working as a volunteer. This drove him to better understand the health and safety aspects, including how to read an ECG/EKG and an advanced first aid course.
It is with his hard won information, and a desire to see ibogaine knowledge distributed around the world, saving lives, as it has saved his life from Crack and heroin addiction.
"I´m just a common man who through his own experience and desire has studied ibogaine and iboga and their correct administration. I stand on the shoulders of giants and through my web and graphic design skills I´ve decided to disseminate this info to a wider audience, with the hope of spreading liberty to those that desire it
www.maderasagrada.org
maderasagrada@protonmail.com
+34 643280060 (Whatsapp & Telegram available)
Learn about the jaw-dropping benefits of Ibogaine and Iboga. They do so much more than just addiction treatment
Ibogaine can be dangerous for some people. Educate yourself to see if you are a good candidate for this work
Preparing for your iboga ceremony or ibogaine treatment. Mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually.
Learn what medication and medical health conditions are a bad mix with ibogaine and iboga.
Make sure you go to a good place! There are some shady operations going on out there…
Ibogaine and the heart have a delicate relationship. Indepth article about the action on the heart.
Talk to us!
Our volunteers will tell you about their personal experiences with ibogaine and advise you on finding a safe and reputable ibogaine clinic.
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+34 643280060
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