maps • volume xv number 2 • Summer 2005
Ibogaine - Rite of Passage

By Ben De Loenen
[Editor's Note: As mentioned in the article on page 8, research may take place in Israel into the use of ibogaine in subjects with opiate addiction.
The following report is about an excellent documentary about ibogaine that MAPS helped in a small way to bring to fruition.]

Ibogaine - Rite of Passage is a documentary about the use of the controversial substance ibogaine for the treatment of addiction. After the appeal for funds that was written in the Summer 2004 MAPS Bulletin, this project was finished successfully, thanks to Custom House Publishers, For A Better World, Inc., and The Rotary in Antwerp, who provided us with the needed funds. The working title Retrospection of the Future which was stated in the article has been replaced with a new on: Ibogaine--Rite of Passage.

A short synopsis of the film:
Ibogaine is a substance derived from an African plant, which is used during initiations of the Bwiti culture in Gabon. In the sixties the anti-addictive properties were discovered by Howard Lotsof, who was a heroin addict at that time. Shortly after his discovery, ibogaine became illegal in the US. Ibogaine is surrounded by controversy, and the pharmaceutical companies show no interest in this substance. Is it because of economic reasons or its hallucinogenic effects?

Cy (34) has been using a mixture of heroin and amphetamine for about 11 years, but his three children and his ambitions are more valuable to him. Kicking his addiction is a tough job for him. It reveals all his suppressed emotions.

Massavou (22) lives in the village Mitoné in Gabon. For her, the traditional African initiation is part of a healing process. She suffered from an illness for more than a year, and she hopes that eating the holy plant will be the starting point of a new phase in her life.

This revealing documentary shows the different aspects of this special substance by means of personal experiences and explanations of ex-addicts, treatment providers, and "experts."

On September 25, 2004, the premier took place at the Dutch Film Festival in Utrecht, Holland. On October 18, it was presented for 450 women at Actueel Denken & Leven, a Belgian organization. On November 11, it was presented at the 5th annual Harm Reduction Coalition Conference in New Orleans.

The DVD is now completed; it will have subtitles in five languages that can be selected: English, French, German, Spanish, and Dutch. The DVD will include the trailer as well as information pages about the treatment centers, organizations, and sponsors that cooperated, a list of websites, and a filmography of the director.

I would like to thank MAPS for giving me the opportunity to publish the appeal for funds, which brought us in contact with the right people. The trailer is online on the MAPS website at: http://www.maps.org/ibogaine and the entire DVD is for sale from MAPS for $20 plus $4 shipping. You can also visit the website of the film's production company [www.lunartproductions.com], where all the info on this project is online.


View of Haifa, overlooking the Cave of Elijah.
Photo by John Halpern.
Bulletin Archive Index
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Winter 2008 Vol. 18, No. 1 Special Edition: Technology and Psychedelics
Winter 2007 Vol. 17, No. 3 MAPS 06-07 Fiscal Yearly Report
Autumn 2007 Vol. 17, No. 2 Special Edition: Psychedelics and Self-Discovery
Spring/Summer 2007 Vol. 17, No. 1 The Chrysalis Stage
Winter 2006-7 Vol. 16, No. 3 Low Maintenance/High Performance
Autumn 2006 Vol. 16, No. 2 Technologies of Healing
Spring 2006 Vol. 16, No. 1 MAPS' 20th Anniversary
Winter 2005 Vol. 15, No. 3 MAPS final year as a teenager
Summer 2005 Vol. 15, No. 2 Israel Conference: MDMA/PTSD Research
Spring 2005 Vol. 15, No. 1 Accelerating flow of work and time
Autumn 2004 Vol. 14, No. 2 Rites of Passage: Kids and Psychedelics
Summer 2004 Vol. 14, No. 1 10 stamps and $250,000
Winter 2003 Vol. 13, No. 2 Holy Fire
Spring 2003 Vol. 13, No. 1 60th Anniversary of the Discovery of LSD
Autumn 2002 Vol. 12, No. 3 Vision
Summer 2002 Vol. 12, No. 2 "From celebration to frustration, and back again."
Spring 2002 Vol. 12, No. 1 Sex, Spirit & Psychedelics 2002
Autumn 2001 Vol. 11, No. 2 "In the future, it will be called Despair."
Spring 2001 Vol. 11, No. 1 "A Tidal Wave of Ecstasy!"
Autumn 2000 Vol. 10, No. 3 Creativity 2000
Summer 2000 Vol. 10, No. 2 Endings and Beginnings
Spring 2000 Vol. 10, No. 1 Making History in Slow Motion
Winter 1999/00 Vol. 9, No. 4 To the Ends of the Earth for MDMA Research...
Autumn 1999 Vol. 9, No. 3 MAPS' long-standing efforts to conduct...
Summer 1999 Vol. 9, No. 2 MAPS has come full circle...
Spring 1999 Vol. 9, No. 1 Patience, persistence and passion
Winter 1998/99 Vol. 8, No. 4 One of special pleasures of directing MAPS...
Autumn 1998 Vol. 8, No. 3 The Ayahuasca Issue (with Hofmann interview)
Summer 1998 Vol. 8, No. 2 Emotionally Powerful Anecdotes...
Spring 1998 Vol. 8, No. 1 Death Has a Way of Focusing One's Attention
Autumn 1997 Vol. 7, No. 4 Celebration is in Order
Summer 1997 Vol. 7, No. 3 Time Horizons
Spring 1997 Vol. 7, No. 2 Synchronicity
Winter 1996/97 Vol. 7, No. 1 Learning to Crawl
Autumn 1996 Vol. 6, No. 4 An Invitation for Dialogue
Summer 1996 Vol. 6, No. 3 Budding Research
New Year 1996 Vol. 6, No. 2 Sending Down Roots
Autumn 1995 Vol. 6, No. 1 Baby Steps
Summer 1995 Vol. 5, No. 4 Opportunity Amidst Obstacles
Winter 1994/95 Vol. 5, No. 3 Clinical Trials and Tribulations
Autumn 1994 Vol. 5, No. 2 Building Towards Clinical Trials
Summer 1994 Vol. 5, No. 1 Politics and Protocols: In Search of a Balance
Spring 1994 Vol. 4, No. 4 Laying the Groundwork
Winter 1993/94 Vol. 4, No. 3 A Time of Tests
Summer 1993 Vol. 4, No. 2 So Close Yet So Far
Spring 1993 Vol. 4, No. 1 Remembrance and Renewal
Winter 1992/93 Vol. 3, No. 4 Forging New Alliances
Summer 1992 Vol. 3, No. 3 Building on Common Ground
Spring 1992 Vol. 3, No. 2 Small Steps, Gradual Progress, New Opportunities
Winter 1991/92 Vol. 3, No. 1 The Rekindling of a Thousand Points of Light
Summer 1991 Vol. 2, No. 2 MDMA protocol development with cancer patients
Winter 1990/91 Vol. 2, No. 1 MAPS' Swiss pharmacologically-assisted psychotherapy conference
Autumn 1990 Vol. 1, No. 3 What and Who is MAPS?
Summer 1989 Vol. 1, No. 2 Switzerland Leads the Way
Summer 1988 Vol. 1, No. 1 MDMA can become a legal medicine