Texas just bet $50 million on ibogaine
The largest state investment in psychedelic research ever — and what it means for families who can't wait a decade for the FDA.
In June 2025, Texas did something no state had done before: it put $50 million behind ibogaine. Senate Bill 2308 created a consortium of universities, hospitals, and drug developers to run clinical trials aimed at FDA approval — the largest public investment in psychedelic research anywhere in the world.
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