Trump's ibogaine decree highlights Gabon's overlooked role in psychedelic research

This decision places Gabon, the origin country of iboga, at the center of a geopolitical and economic issue, without prior consultation of its traditional communities. The decree, signed in the Oval Office with figures like Joe Rogan, FDA Director Marty Makary, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., aims to remove bureaucratic obstacles to therapeutic psychedelic research. Ibogaine, derived from the sacred Tabernanthe iboga shrub from Gabon, is a primary focus.

The FDA has weeks to establish an accelerated approval pathway for three substances, an unprecedented move for psychedelics in the United States. This acceleration comes amid a crisis, with the Pentagon reporting 471 American military suicides and 1,500 attempts in 2024. A small Stanford study on 30 veterans treated in Mexico showed significant improvements in symptoms of traumatic brain injury, PTSD, and depression.

Washington plans to build a multi-billion dollar therapeutic market based on these findings. Two days before Trump's decree, an open letter from dozens of practitioners, Bwiti initiates, and Gabonese NGO representatives called on the international community. They noted that despite a recent visit by Americans for Ibogaine to Libreville, no free, prior, and informed consent was obtained from the traditional communities s