{"id":313329,"date":"2025-10-18T11:58:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-18T11:58:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/313329\/"},"modified":"2025-10-18T11:58:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T11:58:13","slug":"former-gov-rick-perry-backs-access-to-psychedelic-ibogaine-at-dallas-film-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/313329\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Gov. Rick Perry backs access to psychedelic ibogaine at Dallas film event"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Gov. Rick Perry was in Dallas on Thursday night, but it wasn\u2019t to talk politics.<\/p>\n

After a screening of clips from an unreleased documentary about the psychedelic ibogaine at Cin\u00e9polis Dallas, Perry argued that Texas was poised to open access to the drug <\/b>to those who could benefit from it. Perry himself took ibogaine in 2023<\/a> to treat anxiety and other mental health issues likely stemming from his military service, he told The New York Times<\/a>. Since then, the former presidential candidate has dedicated his career<\/a> to promoting ibogaine as a potential cure for traumatic brain injury, substance abuse and cognitive decline. \u201cWhat we\u2019re doing is changing the world,\u201d said Perry, \u201cand we\u2019re saving lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Rick<\/p>\n

Rick Perry (right) speaks during a panel discussion at Cin\u00e9polis Luxury Cinemas in Dallas on Oct. 16, 2025.<\/p>\n

Jason Janik \/ Special Contributor<\/p>\n

He was referring, in part, to the legislative push that led Gov. Greg Abbott<\/a> to sign Senate Bill 2308<\/a> in June. The measure authorizes up to $50 million in matching funds for in-state clinical trials run by medical schools, research consortia, drug companies or others, with the aim of producing data that could support an eventual approval for ibogaine use by the Food and Drug Administration. Ibogaine is currently classified <\/b>as <\/b>a Schedule I hallucinogenic<\/a> under the Controlled Substances Act, illegal to prescribe and deemed to have no accepted medical use. <\/p>\n

Tracing ibogaine\u2019s history<\/p>\n

But the drug has long been used for medicinal and ritual purposes in Gabon, Cameroon and other countries of Western and Central Africa, according to the clips shown from British filmmaker Lucy Walker\u2019s unreleased documentary Thursday at <\/b>the Dallas Cin\u00e9polis. <\/b>Walker, who\u2019s <\/b>also behind Netflix\u2019s How to Change Your Mind,<\/a> a series about the history and applications of psychedelics, <\/b>traces the use of <\/b>ibogaine from its African roots to studies in the United States for addiction, traumatic brain injury and mental health conditions in her current project. She <\/b>also explores the role of husband-and-wife advocates Howard and Norma Lotsof<\/a>, who launched a decades-long campaign to get scientists and regulators to study the medical potential of ibogaine. <\/p>\n

The film spotlights recovery stories as military veterans and others flock to Mexico, where ibogaine treatment is legal but unregulated.<\/p>\n

A panel discussion after the screening featured former NFL lineman Robert Gallery<\/a>, former Marine Jay Kopelman<\/a> and Dr. Mart\u00edn Polanco<\/a>, a central figure in Walker\u2019s film. According to his website, Polanco treats addiction, depression, traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder (also known as PTSD) with ibogaine and another psychedelic called 5-MeO-DMT in Mexico. Polanco also founded<\/a> The Mission Within, a psychedelic-assisted treatment retreat for military veterans and their families near Tijuana<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Breaking News<\/p>\n

Get the latest breaking news from North Texas and beyond.<\/p>\n

By signing up, you agree to our\u00a0Terms of Service<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Dr.<\/p>\n

Dr. Martin Polanco (third from left) speaks during a panel discussion spotlighting veterans\u2019 mental health crisis and the potential of ibogaine at Cin\u00e9polis Luxury Cinemas in Dallas on Oct. 16, 2025.<\/p>\n

Jason Janik \/ Special Contributor<\/p>\n

Neuroimaging studies suggest ibogaine can spur nerve growth and boost neuroplasticity<\/a>, the brain\u2019s ability to rewire itself by forming new connections. Polanco said the drug\u2019s psychedelic effects<\/a> and their duration depend on follow-up care such as lifestyle changes and meditation. But he emphasized that larger, more <\/b>rigorous trials are needed to determine <\/b>benefits and risks and to pave a path toward federally approved treatment. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe still need to collect a lot of data,\u201d Polanco said. \u201cThe studies that have been done have been pretty small. \u2026 \u200bWe hope that bigger clinical trials take place. From what we have seen so far, ibogaine works best for addiction, and within addiction, it works best for alcohol and opioids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Further studies needed<\/p>\n

Polanco said there\u2019s anecdotal evidence that ibogaine may help early Parkinson\u2019s, multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases, though the underlying biological mechanisms remain unclear. In 2025<\/a>, Mexico-based Ambio Life Sciences started a clinical ibogaine program to test the drug in people with neurodegenerative conditions.<\/p>\n

Ibogaine has not undergone significant double-blind, placebo-controlled trials \u2014 participants nor researchers know who receives the drug. Most studies to date are open-label<\/a>, where both participants and researchers<\/a> know what the treatment is, or based on anecdotal reports. <\/p>\n

Safety remains a concern: Ibogaine has been linked to sudden death from serious cardiac events<\/a>. According to a 2021 editorial<\/a> in the journal Expert Opinion on Drug Metabolism and Toxicology, there have been 33 ibogaine-related deaths from 1990 to 2020, mostly occurring in \u201cunsafe settings without proper medical monitoring.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miriam Fauzia is a science reporting fellow at The Dallas Morning News. Her fellowship is supported by the University of Texas at Dallas. The News makes all editorial decisions.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>UT Arlington researcher developing electric Band-Aid to mend damaged hearts<\/a><\/p>\n

Backed by NIH funding, Yi Hong is testing an electrically active, regenerative patch that aims to help with recovery from heart attacks.<\/p>\n

\"This<\/a>The cure for veterans\u2019 mental health could be psychedelics, new documentary explores<\/a><\/p>\n

Cin\u00e9polis Dallas hosts a sneak peek on ibogaine\u2019s potential for mental health issues in veterans.<\/p>\n

\"Medicare<\/a>Prescription drug coverage options are shrinking for Medicare shoppers. Here\u2019s how<\/a><\/p>\n

The number of available, stand-alone drug plans has fallen for a few years, and that trend will continue for 2026.<\/p>\n

\"Mario<\/a>Nobel Prize 2025: Dallas-area scientists expanding on research that won chemistry award <\/a><\/p>\n

Scientists at the University of Texas at Dallas are using metal-organic frameworks for cleaning air and water and delivering vaccines. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Gov. Rick Perry was in Dallas on Thursday night, but it wasn\u2019t to talk politics. After a…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":313330,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,1596,5026,53,50,80,881,18253,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-313329","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-greg-abbott","11":"tag-movies","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-politics","14":"tag-public-health","15":"tag-science-and-medicine","16":"tag-texas","17":"tag-tx","18":"tag-united-states","19":"tag-united-states-of-america","20":"tag-unitedstates","21":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","22":"tag-us","23":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115395055151646155","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=313329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313329\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/313330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=313329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=313329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=313329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}