Arizona joins Texas in ibogaine clinical trial research push for veteran, first responder mental health

Arizona recently joined Texas to become the second state in 2025 to appropriate public funds for clinical research trials into the use of ibogaine, a transformative Central West African psychedelic compound, in the treatment of neurological conditions. 

Ibogaine is a psychoactive alkaloid derived from the root of the Tabernanthe iboga plant, which has been used ceremonially for centuries. It has rapidly attracted interest from U.S. policymakers, veterans’ advocates, and addiction specialists for its potentially transformative benefits in alleviating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, traumatic brain injury, opioid use disorder, and a range of other neurological conditions that are impacting lives and burdening public budgets.

Arizona’s Fiscal Year 2026 state budget, signed into law in late June, includes a $5 million grant appropriation to study “ibogaine for the treatment of neurological diseases” at a research facility with “the ability to facilitate pioneering research and innovation in diagnosis and treatment of neurological conditions.”

The appropriation for ibogaine clinical trials may have ended up in the enacted state budget, but it originated as House Bill 2871, introduced in February by state Rep. Justin Wilmeth (R-Phoenix). 

“Every single day, we lose veterans to PTSD and traumatic brain injuries, and the treatment options available now just aren’t good enough,” Wilmeth stated in a March press release. “We have an opportunity here in Arizona to push for a treatment that could truly help those suffering from PTSD and traumatic brain injury.”

Former Arizona U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema testified on behalf of the bill as part of a national push to educate state lawmakers about the promise of ibogaine-assisted therapy. 

“Arizona is showing the nation how to solve real problems by putting cutting-edge science first,” Sinema told Reason Foundation. “We have no legal, effective treatments today for traumatic brain injuries and other neurological disorders. Ibogaine has shown incredible results for special forces veterans, and Arizona’s investment in clinical research that starts a path for ibogaine’s FDA [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] approval will save thousands more veterans’ lives—and the lives of Americans living with these diseases.”

Arizona is now the second state seeking to accelerate FDA clinical trials for ibogaine, after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law a similar $50 million appropriation for ibogaine clinical trials just two weeks before Arizona’s budget approval. Reason Foundation provided testimony in support of a Texas study bill, Senate Bill 2308, finding that ibogaine has shown tremendous promise as an alternative treatment for opioid use disorder and other persistent mental disorders.

The Arizona House modified Wilmeth’s original bill this spring to explicitly reflect that the state’s $5 million appropriation would serve as a match to an equal private sector match to effectuate a $10 million clinical trial, similar to how Texas’ $50 million appropriation is expected to match an equal amount of private contributions. Although Arizona’s match language was ultimately omitted from the final enacted budget, both Arizona and Texas are expected to see public and private philanthropic dollars paired to create major public-private partnerships.

Both Texas and Arizona can now be considered the first two states signing on to what advocates hope will become a larger, coordinated effort to accelerate ibogaine clinical trials and potential U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval. Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry recently launched and serves as board chair of a new advocacy group, Americans for Ibogaine, that will support state and federal efforts to fund and accelerate clinical research—what some have described as a “Manhattan Project” for ibogaine in the United States.

For more information on ibogaine and the emerging interest from state policymakers, see Reason Foundation’s 2024 policy study, Ibogaine Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder.

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