Addiction Alleviator? Hallucinogen’s popularity grows

The unsanctioned use of an obscure drug to treat addiction has exploded recently, a new report finds.

UNDERGROUND. A growing number of heroin addicts use ibogaine, a hallucinogen derived from the shrub Tabernanthe iboga, seen here, to ease withdrawal. M. Schmidt

A subculture of advocates who say the hallucinogen ibogaine alleviates addiction to opiates has welled up from New York City and spread to small clinics and informal treatment networks across the globe.