4 ms·

I've read about very encouraging (though not universal) results of Ibogaine treatment, and heard similar first-person anecdotes. But drug researchers can hardly

by beagle3 12y ago

I've read about very encouraging (though not universal) results of Ibogaine treatment, and heard similar first-person anecdotes. But drug researchers can hardly research that, because Ibogaine is not legal (despite having basically no addictive, enjoyable or otherwise recreational properties). Current drug research is limited by irrational policy (well, at the very least, it is irrational if your aim is to cure addiction). I wouldn't trust it.

btilly 12y ago
I was curious about the subject back in the 90s and have not followed up. I had not heard about Ibogaine, but it does sound interesting. The book I read (whose title escapes me) reported on another drug that was similar to methadone, except that it suppressed heroin for a week instead of a day. This would be a significant improvement in lifestyle for addicts, allowing them to do things like take short business trips without having to disclose their treatment. (Doctors are reluctant to simply give patients a few days supply because methadone has street value for its ability to suppress heroin cravings.) I forget the name of that drug but it is moot. Research hit a dead end because the medication was not under patent, and therefore there was no way for anyone to recoup the high cost of seeking FDA approval. (There are a number of promising treatments which have suffered the same fate.)
- refurb 12y ago
  I forget the name of that drug but it is moot. Are you thinking of LAAM? It was used as a maintanence drug, but was pulled off the market due to side effects. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levacetylmethadol http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levacetylmethadol
  - btilly 12y ago
    I doubt it since the author of the book I read was the person who studied the drug in question and he said that research was discontinued due to FDA issues. Another anecdote in the same book was that the same researcher was funded to study side effects of a drug for insomnia. He found it did an excellent job of helping people sleep, and was puzzled about why people weren't interested. Turns out that the drug company funding him was testing a competitor's drug and were hoping to find side effects so that they could get the FDA to take it off the market. :-) It was an excellent book that I read 20 years ago, and if I could remember the title I'd buy it in a heartbeat just to refresh my memory.
    - refurb 12y ago
      If you read the book 20 years ago, it might have been LAAM. It struggled for a while to get approved by the FDA and only got it in 1994.

by beagle3 12y ago

btilly 12y ago

I was curious about the subject back in the 90s and have not followed up. I had not heard about Ibogaine, but it does sound interesting. The book I read (whose title escapes me) reported on another drug that was similar to methadone, except that it suppressed heroin for a week instead of a day. This would be a significant improvement in lifestyle for addicts, allowing them to do things like take short business trips without having to disclose their treatment. (Doctors are reluctant to simply give patients a few days supply because methadone has street value for its ability to suppress heroin cravings.) I forget the name of that drug but it is moot. Research hit a dead end because the medication was not under patent, and therefore there was no way for anyone to recoup the high cost of seeking FDA approval. (There are a number of promising treatments which have suffered the same fate.)

refurb 12y ago
I forget the name of that drug but it is moot. Are you thinking of LAAM? It was used as a maintanence drug, but was pulled off the market due to side effects. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levacetylmethadol http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levacetylmethadol
- btilly 12y ago
  I doubt it since the author of the book I read was the person who studied the drug in question and he said that research was discontinued due to FDA issues. Another anecdote in the same book was that the same researcher was funded to study side effects of a drug for insomnia. He found it did an excellent job of helping people sleep, and was puzzled about why people weren't interested. Turns out that the drug company funding him was testing a competitor's drug and were hoping to find side effects so that they could get the FDA to take it off the market. :-) It was an excellent book that I read 20 years ago, and if I could remember the title I'd buy it in a heartbeat just to refresh my memory.
  - refurb 12y ago
    If you read the book 20 years ago, it might have been LAAM. It struggled for a while to get approved by the FDA and only got it in 1994.