Colorado’s Ibogaine Bill Could Be a Landmark - If It Respects the Plant’s Roots

Colorado’s proposed HB26-1325 would create a state-supported ibogaine research pilot program aimed at studying ibogaine for substance use disorders, PTSD, and other mental health conditions, including for veterans. The bill would not legalize ibogaine under federal law, since ibogaine remains Schedule I; instead, Colorado would build infrastructure for up to five research sites, assist with FDA Investigational New Drug (IND) navigation, and coordinate with federal regulators. Funding is envisioned via gifts, grants, and donations into a dedicated cash fund rather than direct state appropriations. A key feature is a benefit-sharing requirement tied to Indigenous communities historically connected to iboga and ibogaine practices. Future licensees cultivating, manufacturing, testing, distributing, or administering ibogaine would need plans developed in consultation with those communities. The article emphasizes that sourcing is an ethical open question: ibogaine depends on plants native to Central Africa (not grown commercially at scale in the US), conservation and export restrictions already exist, and supply chain choices will affect whether benefit-sharing provisions have real impact.