Veterans cross border for forbidden psychedelic treatment that's changing lives after combat
As desperate veterans crossed into Mexico to try a promising psychedelic drug, a battle over the same substance raged on in Texas.
Ibogaine – a plant-based extract that originates from the African iboga shrub – is a psychedelic drug and has been championed by a coalition of military heroes who swear by its benefits.
For the last few years, veterans have been traveling south of the border to try the drug for PTSD and traumatic brain injury treatment and have returned with remarkable stories of healing — but, here in the U.S., the drug can neither be bought nor taken.
In fact, even studying it poses a challenge, but Texas sought to change that with a bill to make the Lone Star State the international leader in ibogaine research.
"There is obviously a medical use for this. We sent 1,000 warfighters down to Mexico to be treated, and we know how they're coming back and how they're healed," former Texas Gov. Rick Perry said in the Fox Nation exclusive "Ibogaine: The Fight of a Lifetime," hosted by Fox News' Will Cain.
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The longest-serving governor in Lone Star State history is one of several personalities featured in the special, which debuted on the streaming platform this Thursday and explores the fight to open up a clinical investigation into the schedule I substance in Texas.
Schedule I, as classified under the Controlled Substances Act signed by President Richard Nixon in the early 1970s, means the substance serves no medical purpose and is addictive in nature.
Perry says ibogaine is neither of those and is instead crucial for saving the lives of veterans with invisible wounds.
"Six years ago, if you had told me that Rick Perry and psychedelics were going to be in the same sentence, I would have went, ‘I don't think so,'" he said.
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Yet Americans for Ibogaine CEO Bryan Hubbard says Perry has become instrumental in blazing the path forward for the drug, particularly among skeptics who need a familiar, trustworthy voice in its corner.
"The scientists, the doctors, the PhDs, the technicians that have worked on this and their data is what sold me," Perry continued.
"After I looked at the data, and I talked to the veterans who had been down [to Mexico] to be treated, I said, ‘We need to do this.'"
Others, including those who have benefited firsthand, agree with the sentiment.
Marine veterans Gary Hess, Jon Stevens and Tyler Kotulka, Navy veteran Chris Fettes and others who suffered from PTSD, concussions, TBIs and other traumatic injuries, share their stories in the episode, detailing the battles warfighters face at home.
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Retired Navy SEAL Marcus Capone, who served six tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and his wife Amber, addressed Texas lawmakers to plead their case for opening up research.
Together, the couple founded VETS, helping veterans access safe, clinically-guided psychedelic therapies. While seated in a chapel and mourning after one of her best friend's husbands took his own life, Amber reached an epiphany.
"We had been there for so many war funerals, and this just felt different, and it became clear to me that, if we didn't find the courage to speak out, we would be in this chapel for a slew of funerals in the years to come," she shared in the Fox Nation special.
Evidence pointing to ibogaine's medicinal value would mean its current scheduling is inaccurate, but getting the drug's scheduling changed poses another challenge.
"The problem is, you can't approve a schedule I drug while it's [still] schedule I," explained Dr. Nolan Williams, a researcher at Stanford Medicine. He says the substance has been recognized as a therapeutic for more than 100 years, but hangups still surround it today.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott expanded ibogaine research opportunities earlier this year by signing Senate Bill 2308, which covers the same core policy as HB 3717.
"Texas is home to more veterans than any other state," Abbott said, per a press release from his office.
"Many of those veterans suffer from injuries both seen and unseen. A therapy that has shown great promise in treating those conditions is ibogaine. This law authorizes a Food and Drug Administration approved clinical drug trial that will seek approval of ibogaine as a medication for the treatment of opioid use disorder and other behavioral health conditions, especially those suffered by our veterans. Texas will now lead the way in America for the evaluation of ibogaine as a potential medication that can help improve the lives of so many veterans."
To hear testimonials and stories from those who have benefited from and fought for ibogaine research, subscribe to Fox Nation and begin streaming today.