I am a writer, and if I quit drinking, Hemingway’s ghost may come back and punch me in the mouth. That being said, I understand addiction.
I am thankful for my foresight and aversion to heavy drugs. I have never tried meth or heroin, but I have seen the consequences on those who have. Being homeless, I have met more young people desperate for “black tar” or “clear” (injectable heroin and meth, respectively) than I care to admit. But truth can be a harsh reality.
I am opposed to our country’s drug policies, not because I am pro-drug, but because many of the laws are downright draconian and lack any semblance of sanity, logic or reason.
Here in our city, heroin use and overdoses have been rising for years and have claimed the lives of street kids, famous musicians and other talented or otherwise quality individuals. It is heartbreaking and shameful knowing that opiate addiction can be cured, but our government does not want it so.
Ibogaine is an extraction of an African root plant called Tabernanthe Iboga. The power of the alkaloids present in the plant surpass that of any opiate.
Essentially, once administered, an opiate addict can break free of that addiction without the withdrawals, or “dope sickness.” It has been well-documented as a cure for heroin addiction, a tried-and-true method. It’s not guaranteed but it’s worked historically in the past.
The DEA classifies Ibogaine as a “Schedule I” substance, outlawed because it is a hallucinogen or psychedelic. Once heroin users trip on Ibogaine, many never return to heroin. In my opinion, this is a rotten epidemic of epic failure upon our government.
I propose that the good people in our Seattle City Council coordinate with an expert on the subject — Dr. Rick Doblin of MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies) — in order to helm a project that brings Ibogaine therapy clinics to Seattle.
The implications are not only the freeing of those with opiate addictions that wish to be freed, but to show the world that Seattle is the most intelligent and compassionate city in America.