NEWS & RESEARCH
From the Field
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The Mission Within is committed to providing proven research into the effectiveness of psychedelic therapies not just to treat, but to heal veterans, their families and others suffering from PTSD, Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries (mTBI), Depression and Anxiety.
News & Press
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FOX NEWS The Will Cain Show: A look inside ibogaine drug treatment for veterans
Description goes Ret. Rear Adm. James Hancock and Dr. Martin Polanco discuss how a drug called ibogaine has helped veterans treat severe PTSD and traumatic brain injuries on ‘The Will Cain Show.’
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TELEPATHY TAPES: S2E39 Ibogaine Inquiries Part 1: Remember the Name
In the first episode of The Ibogaine Inquiries, Ky Dickens and Katherine Ellis trace ibogaine's unlikely path from sacred ceremonies in Gabon to veterans seeking healing in Mexico, and ultimately to the halls of American politics. Along the way, former Texas Governor Rick Perry, Admiral Jim Hancock, and physician Dr. Martín Polanco share the personal experiences that transformed them from skeptics into advocates.
LISTEN TO PODCAST Part I »
The “Ibogaine Inquiries” limited series is published in multiple parts. Listen to more episodes: -
WSJ VIDEO: The Race to Commercialize the World’s Most Powerful Psychedelic
5-MeO discussion by Wall Street Journal on treatment for veterans at The Mission Within, growing Federal support for psychedelics, and biotech research for future development.
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FORBES: Federal Agencies Unite On Psychedelic Trials For Veterans
The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Veterans Affairs signed a memorandum of understanding this week to advance clinical trials for psychedelic drugs as mental health treatments for veterans. This agreement implements a presidential executive order from April, directing agencies to explore psychedelics for serious mental illness. The MOU aims to increase veteran participation in trials, expand clinician training, and establish data sharing with the FDA to expedite drug approvals.
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Seeking Relief From Brain Injury, Some Veterans Turn to Psychedelics
Unable to find effective treatments at home, veterans with brain-injury symptoms are going abroad for psychedelics like ibogaine that are illegal in the U.S.
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Lawmaker ‘Reborn’ Through Psychedelic Therapy Wants the GOP to Embrace It
Morgan Luttrell is among a growing group of Republican lawmakers—many of them veterans—who are making the case for drugs that they say help address issues like PTSD, depression and substance abuse. “I had the inability to let the previous part of my life go and understand that my current life is what’s most important,” Luttrell said in an interview. He argues the path forward “needs to be medically based.”
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FOX NEWS: What Americans should know about the psychedelic drug Ibogaine
Americans for Ibogaine CEO Bryan Hubbard discusses how a psychedelic drug could help veterans heal from trauma and PTSD on 'The Will Cain Show.' “I had the inability to let the previous part of my life go and understand that my current life is what’s most important,” Luttrell said in an interview. He argues the path forward “needs to be medically based.”
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NY TIMES: Powerful Psychedelic Gains Renewed Attention as a Treatment for Opioid Addiction
Ibogaine, a formidable psychedelic made from the root of a shrub native to Central Africa, is not for the timid. Researchers have also been studying ibogaine’s ability to treat other difficult mental health problems. A small study published earlier this year in the journal Nature Medicine found that military veterans with traumatic brain injuries who underwent a single ibogaine therapy session experienced marked improvements in disability, psychiatric symptoms and cognition.
“These are the most dramatic drug effects I’ve ever captured in an observational study,” said Dr. Williams, who is the director of the Brain Stimulation Lab at Stanford University. -
Mexico has become a testing ground for psychedelic therapies
Many of those turning to psychedelics are former soldiers. Martín Polanco, a doctor who runs The Mission Within near Tijuana, says he has treated 1,000 veterans with ibogaine since 2016. Studies completed to date show promise.
“I think it’s unreasonable to believe that there’s no signal for potential benefits of psychedelics at this point,” says David Yaden of Johns Hopkins University. Researchers believe the drugs work by making the mind more flexible, helping people to see their lives and actions in a new light.”
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FORBES: Tribeca Film About Ibogaine: A Revolutionary Treatment For Addiction And PTSD?
Imagine having a chronic condition with debilitating symptoms that modern medicine cannot relieve. Sweats, chills, bodyaches, physical and emotional pain, intense cravings, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts. Now imagine one day you discovered a treatment that would take away your pain and suffering but you can’t get it.
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NY TIMES: "I Want to Reset My Brain": Female Veterans Turn to Psychedelic Therapy
Traumatized by war and sexual assaults, some U.S. veterans and veterans' spouses are seeking help in a Mexican clinic that treats depression and addiction with potent hallucinogens like toad poison.
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The Testimonies Speak for Themselves: Psychedelics Save Lives!!
That moment was the turning point that jump-started my bipartisan bill for more research into lifesaving psychedelic therapies for active-duty service members. It’s unconventional, but it works. The testimonies speak for themselves.
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Minneapolis Mayor Loosens Enforcements of Psychedelics
Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis issued an executive order on Friday instructing the city's police officers to, in essence, look the other way when it comes to the purchase and use of certain illegal psychedelic drugs.
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NEWYORKER: The Pied Piper of Psychedelic Toads
Octavio Rettig, an underground practitioner of 5-MeO, a hallucinogenic substance derived from Sonoran Desert toads, claims that he has revived a lost Mesoamerican ritual.
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We’re on the cusp of another psychedelic era. But this time Washington is along for the ride
There’s a new cause in Washington that’s uniting Republicans, Democrats and Biden health officials: psychedelics as a cure for America’s mental health crisis. “The results that are coming out are just groundbreaking — earth-shattering,” said Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-Texas), a former Navy SEAL who credits therapy and two psychedelics, ibogaine and 5-MeO, with helping him overcome the trauma he suffered after his Black Hawk helicopter went down during a 2009 training mission. “D.C. actually is getting their head around it.”
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Pa. veterans will help study psychedelic drugs to treat trauma, prevent suicide
A movement led by military veterans has embraced using psychedelic medications to treat conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression, citing an urgent need to make them widely available in Pennsylvania.
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Team Never Quit Podcast
DR. MARTÍN POLANCO AND MARINE RYAN ROBERTS
A Discussion on the Clinical Psychedelic Retreat Being Used to Treat Veterans and their Family Members
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Healing Traumatic Brain Injuries with Psychedelics
Traumatic brain injury is a silent epidemic among athletes, veterans and millions of others worldwide. Here’s how psychedelics might help.
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TIME: Inside Ibogaine, One of the Most Promising and Perilous Psychedelics for Addiction
Amber Capone had become afraid of her husband. The “laid-back, bigger than life and cooler than cool” man she’d married had become isolated, disconnected and despondent during his 13 years as a U.S. Navy SEAL. Typically, he was gone 300 days of the year, but when he was home, Amber and their two children walked on eggshells around him. “Everyone was just playing nice until he left again,” Amber says.
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Mindstate Podcast
Michael Higgs - Retired Navy Seal on his work with Mission Within providing psychedelic treatment using Ibogaine and 5-MeO.
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Everyday Warrior Podcast
In our seventh episode, we talked to Dr. Martin Polanco and Dr. Kirk Parsley, who are leading the way in psychedelic research and therapy, and are changing people’s lives for the better, breaking down preconceived ideas about psychedelic therapy and its use in modern medicine.
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Michael Higgs
Michael Higgs is a former Navy Seal operator who has been on his healing path principally with 5-MeO as well as Iboga/Ibogaine. He is currently a facilitator at the healing center “The Mission Within”. They are a therapeutic facility, taking on a 60/40 split of vets to civilians for healing. We dive into Michael’s origin story as well as his work with the medicines.
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Dr. Martin Polanco, Founder of The Mission Within & Michael Higgs, Veteran, SEAL Master
This episode concentrates on the rise of psychedelic therapy. Dr. Martin Polanco and Michael Higgs are leading the way in psychedelic research and therapy, and are changing people's lives for the better.
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Center to Study Psychedelics for Treatment of Depression, Anxiety, PTSD Launches at UT Austin’s Dell Med
Research to Focus on Veterans, Adults Affected by Early Childhood Trauma
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Austin Texas Has The Potential To Become A Hotbed For Psychedelic Research
Austin’s irreverence for convention is setting the stage for it to become a mecca for psychedelics. The free-spirited business leaders in the rapidly growing capital of Texas are wholeheartedly embracing opportunities for psychedelic research and therapy.
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Opinion: I was traumatized by my time in Afghanistan and Iraq. Psychedelic therapy changed my life.
It’s time for California to decriminalize psychedelics and allow for life-saving psychedelic therapies.
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Texas Further Embraces Psychedelics With Launch Of Center For Psychedelic Research And Therapy
Research will focus on how various psychedelics can be used under proper supervision and guidance to treat severe depression, anxiety and PTSD.
Research
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New law could fuel psychedelic drug research at UT Austin
Texas has pledged public money to research ibogaine, hoping for FDA approval to aid veterans with PTSD and addiction.
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Texas set to invest $50 million into psychedelic research at state university
Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 2308 into law on June 11, which designates $50 million to research ibogaine, a psychedelic that could be used to treat addiction, traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission will select a consortium that consists of a state university, drug developer and hospital to research the psychedelic, according to the bill.
Greg Fonzo, co-director of the UT Charmaine & Gordon McGill Center for Psychedelic Research and Therapy, said the institution is interested in researching ibogaine under the grant program.
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Texas OK’s $50 Million for Ibogaine Research
The state’s governor signed legislation to allow clinical trials of a psychedelic drug that shows promise for veterans in treating addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder. “Ibogaine seems to be resetting the brain pharmacologically, and at the same time, it’s producing deep psychological insight into the underlying drivers of addiction,” said Dr. Joseph Peter Barsuglia, a clinical and research psychologist who advises ibogaine clinics in Mexico.
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What to Know About Ibogaine: Some researchers hope the drug, still illegal in the United States, may be considered as a treatment for addiction, PTSD and brain injuries
Ibogaine quells the agonizing symptoms of opioid withdrawal and also appears to reduce the desire to use drugs, at least initially. Scientists are still trying to understand how it works against addiction, but many believe ibogaine fosters the creation of new neurons and neuroplasticity, a rewiring of the brain that gives patients fresh perspectives on self-destructive behavior and the unresolved trauma that sustains it.
“Ibogaine seems to be resetting the brain pharmacologically, and at the same time, it’s producing deep psychological insight into the underlying drivers of addiction,” said Dr. Joseph Peter Barsuglia, a clinical and research psychologist who advises ibogaine clinics in Mexico.
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Open-label study of consecutive ibogaine and 5-MeO assisted-therapy for trauma-exposed male Special Operations Forces Veterans: prospective data from a clinical program in Mexico
Research in psychedelic medicine has focused primarily on civilian populations. Further study is needed to understand whether these treatments are effective for Veteran populations. Here, we examine the effectiveness of psychedelic-assisted therapy among trauma-exposed Special Operations Forces Veterans (SOFV) seeking treatment for cognitive and mental health problems in Mexico.
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Predictors of psychedelic treatment outcomes among special operations forces veterans.
A Prior study demonstrated that psychedelic-assisted therapy was related to reductions in mental health symptoms and associated consequences among U.S. Special Operations Forces Veterans seeking treatment in Mexico. The present study extends this analysis to explore the prospective associations of baseline predictors on treatment outcomes and whether changes in psychological flexibility mediate the relationship between acute changes in consciousness and clinical outcomes.
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Can psychedelics combat prolonged grief? Dell Medical School launches study to find out.
Researchers at The Center for Psychedelic Research and Therapy at Dell Medical School at UT Austin will use brain scans to see how people respond to psychedelics to treat prolonged grief.
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Psychedelic Treatment for Trauma-Related Psychological and Cognitive Impairment Among US Special Operations Forces Veterans - Journal of Chronic Stress 2020
Davis et al. (2020) published retrospective outcomes on 65 Special Operations Forces Veterans which demonstrated “significant and very large reductions in the retrospective report of suicidal ideation, cognitive impairment, and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety. Most participants rated the psychedelic experiences as one of the top five personally meaningful (84%), spiritually significant (88%), and psychologically insightful (86%) experiences of their lives.
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Psychedelic Treatment for Co-Occurring Alcohol Misuse and Post-traumatic Stress Symptoms among United States Special Operations Forces Veterans - Journal of Psychedelic Studies 2021
Mangini 2021 published in a group of 65 Special Operations Forces Veterans, 27 vets reported alcohol misuse. Post-treatment there were significant reductions in reports of alcohol use and posttraumatic stress symptoms. In the 30 days, posttreatment 85% of veterans reduced their alcohol consumption to non-risky levels.
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A Case Report SPECT Study and Theoretical Rationale for the Sequential Administration of Ibogaine and 5-MeO in the treatment of alcohol use disorder - Progress in Brain Research - 2018
Barsuglia et al. (2018) published the first-ever neuroimaging study of before and after treatment with ibogaine and 5-MeO in a veteran dealing with alcohol use disorder. Demonstrated early signal of brain regions impacted by ibogaine.
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Intensity of Mystical Experiences Occasioned by 5-MeO and Comparison with Prior Psilocybin Study- Frontiers in Psychology - 2018
Barsuglia et al. (2018) published first observational data on 5-MeO in contrast to prior psilocybin metrics of mystical experience, which is one of the core predictors of efficacy in psychedelic therapy research.