The veterans who spoke first
Marcus Capone, a retired Navy SEAL, went to Mexico for ibogaine treatment around 2017 after years of symptoms that no VA program had touched. He and his wife Amber Capone then founded VETS, Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions, a nonprofit that has since funded psychedelic treatment abroad for hundreds of special operations veterans and pushed for research and policy change. Their public account of that journey, on podcasts, in documentaries and in Congress, is the single biggest reason ibogaine is a public conversation today.
The Stanford study
In January 2024, Nature Medicine published a study led by Nolan Williams at Stanford: thirty special operations veterans with traumatic brain injury, treated with ibogaine and magnesium under medical supervision at a clinic in Mexico. One month later, disability scores had fallen by more than 80 percent on average, with large reductions in PTSD, depression and anxiety and no serious cardiac events. VETS supported the participants. It was open-label, without a placebo group, and it changed the tone of the coverage from curiosity to urgency.
The podcasts
Joe Rogan has discussed ibogaine on several episodes, including with Bryan Hubbard, and those conversations reach tens of millions of people. Shawn Ryan, a former SEAL whose show is among the most listened to in the United States, has spoken about his own treatment with ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT and hosted guests on the subject. Tim Ferriss has covered the Stanford work with Nolan Williams. The pattern is consistent: veterans and researchers describing results that mainstream medicine has not yet been able to test at scale.
The Tim Ferriss Show’s episode #605, with Hamilton Morris and Dr. Mark Plotkin, links to Bwiti Life’s tradition guide in its official resources. Read our article on iboga, Bwiti and the power of ritual for the conversation’s themes and how they connect with our approach.
Kentucky, then Texas
In 2023, W. Bryan Hubbard, then chair of Kentucky's Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission, proposed directing $42 million of opioid settlement funds toward ibogaine clinical trials. The proposal drew national attention and was set aside after a change in the state's leadership. Hubbard continued the campaign through Americans for Ibogaine, and in 2025 Texas passed legislation, signed by the governor, creating a $50 million public-private program to fund ibogaine clinical trials with the aim of FDA approval. Other states have since discussed similar measures.
What it means if you are considering a retreat
Three things. The evidence is real and growing, and it is still incomplete: no large controlled trial has finished, and the results that made the news came from screened, physician-supervised settings. The medicine remains Schedule I in the United States, so treatment still means travel, most often to Mexico. And the attention has brought new providers, not all of them serious; the questions to ask have not changed: an ECG before you can book, a physician in the room, a plan for the months after. Our own frame is on the Safety page and in Iboga vs ibogaine.
Questions people ask
Was the Stanford study done with iboga or ibogaine?
Ibogaine hydrochloride with magnesium, in a clinical setting. The molecule is the main alkaloid of the root bark we use in ceremony; the frame differs.
Is ibogaine going to be legal in the US soon?
Texas is funding trials toward FDA approval, which is a multi-year path. Rescheduling would follow successful trials, not precede them. For now, treatment means travel.
Do you work with VETS or similar organizations?
We hold dedicated veterans' retreats and welcome veterans funded by nonprofits. Ask on the discovery call and Lisa will explain how it works.
Are the podcast stories representative?
They are true stories from people who were screened, supervised and followed. They are not a guarantee, and they were not the result of a ceremony in an apartment. The setting is the story.