The push came from an unlikely champion. Rick Perry — former governor, former U.S. Energy Secretary — spent years watching Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, who lived with Perry's family after his service, struggle with what came home with him. Luttrell eventually found relief through ibogaine treatment abroad. Perry has since called the ibogaine effort "the most important work I've ever done."

The science that moved a legislature came largely from Stanford: researchers followed 30 special-operations veterans with traumatic brain injuries who sought magnesium-ibogaine treatment in Mexico, and reported meaningful improvements in PTSD, depression, and functioning one month out (Cherian et al., Nature Medicine, 2024). It's an observational study — promising, not proof of efficacy — and the researchers say so themselves. If you want to see the human side of that cohort, the Netflix documentary In Waves and War follows three of those SEALs through treatment.

What this actually changes: legitimacy and momentum. When a state legislature, a former cabinet secretary, and Stanford Medicine are all pulling in the same direction, the conversation is no longer whether ibogaine deserves serious research. It's how fast that research can move.

What it doesn't change: the timeline. Trials take years. FDA approval, if it comes, is likely the better part of a decade away. And ibogaine remains a Schedule I substance in the United States today.

Which leaves the people I talk to every week in the same place they were before the bill signing: making this decision now, for a son or a spouse or themselves, in a market where treatment happens abroad and quality varies enormously from one clinic to the next.

For those families, the Texas news is encouraging but not actionable. What's actionable is the same short list it's always been: a genuine medical intake before anyone is treated — ibogaine's serious risks concentrate in people with pre-existing heart conditions who were never properly screened, and a real cardiac work-up is exactly what catches that. Qualified medical staff physically present. A price that itemizes what it covers. An aftercare plan that outlives the flight home.

That's the bar we hold clinics to — in person — before we ever make an introduction. If you're weighing this decision now rather than in 2032, start with our ibogaine safety guide, or talk to our team — call or text (866) 435-7057. Confidential, no obligation, at your pace.

— Ryan

That gap is why Psychedelic Connect exists, and it's why I get on planes.

When I visit a clinic, the website stops mattering in about ninety seconds. What matters is what I can see and ask about in person. A few of the things I'm looking for:

Who is medically in charge — and are they in the building? Not a name on a webpage. A qualified medical professional actually present during treatment, with a physician reachable if a situation ever calls for one, and clear lines of responsibility when I ask "who decides, and when?"

What happens before anyone is treated. A real clinic runs a genuine intake — medical history, psychiatric picture, an ECG. Ibogaine's serious risks concentrate in people with pre-existing heart conditions who were never properly screened, which is why screening is the one thing I never want to see rushed, discounted, or skipped. The best clinics occasionally tell someone not now. That answer costs them money, and it's one of the strongest signals I know.

What the fee actually covers. I ask every clinic to tell me plainly what's in the number: the screening, the monitored stay, the aftercare. When a quote comes in far below the going range, something has usually been cut — and it's rarely the ocean-view photos. It's the parts you can't see on the website.

Whether the plan survives day one. What happens after treatment — the recovery window, the integration support, who follows up when the client is home. A single intense experience isn't the finish line, and clinics that treat it like one show it in how they answer this question.

There are ten dimensions in total — we call it the Provider Standard™, and every clinic we work with is held to the same published bar, verified in person. No clinic can pay their way onto our recommendations, and nothing a family shares with us goes to any provider until they say so.

This newsletter is where I'll write about what I actually see: the clinic visits, the questions worth asking, and the gap between what the research says and what the marketing claims. Some of it will be uncomfortable for parts of this industry. That's fine. The families making these decisions deserve someone in the room whose job is them.

If you're navigating this decision right now, you don't have to do it from search results. Start with our ibogaine safety guide, or talk to our team — call or text (866) 435-7057. Confidential, no obligation, at your pace.

— Ryan