Dr. Michael Marder is Ikerbasque Research Professor of Philosophy at the University of the Basque Country where, for example, he teaches courses in “Ecology and Phenomenology,” and “Philosophical Anthropology.” His research interests include ethical and political philosophy, environmental philosophy, and phenomenology, and he has authored a number of books on these topics. I invite Michael on the podcast to discuss plant phenomenology, or what he calls “phytophenomenology,” in other words, a combination of phenomenology, botany, and population ecology. Considering many psychedelics stem from a range of plant species, we’re going to find out what it is like to be a plant; to what degree plants are sentient and intelligent; and how the above relate to psychedelics in general and what we can infer about Tabernanthe iboga. Topics of our discussion include: what “phenomenology” is and its application to plant subjectivity; alienness of plant life; rather than anthropomorphize plants, Michael wants to vegetalize humans; signs of plant intelligence and communication; Nietzsche’s “will to power” and Heidegger’s “standing reserve” as two sides of the same coin; plant phenotypic expression through human consumers; plants using humans possibly more than humans using plants; psychedelics affording experiences of the world through their plant consciousness and perception; the ethics of eating a plant’s psychoactive alkaloids, considering alkaloids are defense mechanisms caused by stressors in the plant’s environment (akin to eating meat from stressed animals, similarly speaking); plant and animal co-evolution; and “clashing lifeworlds,” e.g., experiencing the intersection of sober and psychedelic lifeworlds. To find out more about Michael, visit his website at (https://www.michaelmarder.org). Also, visit my Podcast Supplements article regarding afterthoughts of Michael and I’s conversation (https://amhouot.com/88-ep3-6_psychedelic-phenomenology-or-what-is-it-like-to-be-a-psychedelic-plant_michael-marder/).

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Iboganautics is a podcast intended for entertainment purposes only and all content shared on Iboganautics is for entertainment purposes only. This podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional legal or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider or legal counsel with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or legal situation. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on this podcast. Neither Iboganautics nor any of its affiliates, sponsors, producers, guests, or hosts encourage the illegal use of controlled substances.

Dr. Felix Krengel recently completed his PhD in biological sciences at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in Mexico City. His research interests include phytochemistry, metabolomics, and plant tissue culture, focusing particularly on the biosynthesis of monoterpenoid indole alkaloids by Mexican species of the Apocynaceae plant family. I invite Felix on the podcast to discuss his and his colleagues’ research into novel alkaloidal extraction and purification methods, resulting in three published papers in 2019. They are one of very few laboratories in the world, as far as I can tell, exploring the forefront of alternative botanical sources of ibogan-type alkaloids, especially ibogaine. Topics of our discussion include: the difference between primary and secondary metabolites; the difference between plant family/genus/species; his and his team’s research into Mexican Tabernaemontana species that produce ibogan-type alkaloids such as coronaridine, ibogamine, voacangine, ibogaine (“CIVI-complex”); factors affecting alkaloid concentrations in plants; variations in inner and outer root bark alkaloid concentration and its significance; using solvents to liberate alkaloids from wood products; “fake iboga” alkaloids; minor or auxiliary alkaloids; the role of environmental stress in producing alkaloids, alkaloids being one of a plant’s defense mechanisms; economic viability of ibogaine extraction from Voacanga and other non-Tabernanthe iboga species; and genetic modification of plants as potential means to increase ibogaine production. Also, visit my Podcast Supplements article regarding afterthoughts of Felix and I’s conversation (https://amhouot.com/87-ep3-5_alternative-botanical-sources-of-ibogan-alkaloids_felix-krengel/).

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Iboganautics is a podcast intended for entertainment purposes only and all content shared on Iboganautics is for entertainment purposes only. This podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional legal or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider or legal counsel with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or legal situation. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on this podcast. Neither Iboganautics nor any of its affiliates, sponsors, producers, guests, or hosts encourage the illegal use of controlled substances.

Dr. Chris Jenks has applied his background in organic chemistry to ibogaine extraction studies since the 1990s. Over the years, he developed simpler and less expensive procedures and manufacturing methods to extract ibogaine from various plant materials, resulting in multiple manuals and papers detailing the process. The driving force behind his efforts is to provide abundant ibogaine from alternative cultivated sources to people in need, especially those seeking addiction treatment. I invite Chris on the podcast to discuss his and his predecessors’ contributions to non-traditional iboga consumption methods. Members of the Bwiti religion have consumed iboga for hundreds or perhaps thousands of years. Total alkaloid extract, or TA for short, and ibogaine hydrochloride (HCl), are the result of Western extraction processes that drastically reduce the amount of wood product one needs to consume. In this episode, we’ll hear Chris’s perspective and discovery of iboga alkaloid extraction and purification from the Tabernanthe iboga plant species. Topics of our discussion include: his initial major discovery of TA extract and the refinement of his extraction and purification processes; PTA or purified total alkaloid; RA or residual/recovery alkaloids; what is lost if anything during the extraction process; historical timeline of iboga extraction starting in France; the Western mindset regarding capturing the essence of a thing through distillation and extraction; concerns and comments on Tabernanthe iboga extinction; previous (short-lived) ambition of becoming an iboga farmer; and whether he knows of cases wherein Bwiti members consumed extracted iboga products. To find out more about Chris, visit his website at (http://www.puzzlepiece.org/ibogaine/index.html). Also, visit my Podcast Supplements article regarding afterthoughts of Chris and I’s conversation (https://amhouot.com/86-ep3-4_ta-extract-and-hcl-methods-and-history_chris-jenks/).

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Iboganautics is a podcast intended for entertainment purposes only and all content shared on Iboganautics is for entertainment purposes only. This podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional legal or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider or legal counsel with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or legal situation. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on this podcast. Neither Iboganautics nor any of its affiliates, sponsors, producers, guests, or hosts encourage the illegal use of controlled substances.

Dr. Surajit Sinha is professor at the Department of Organic Chemistry at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS), in Kolkata, West Bengal. His research interests broadly include organic synthesis, chemical biology, drug discovery and delivery, and more specifically, iboga alkaloids. I invite Surajit on the podcast to discuss non-ibogaine iboga alkaloids, the ones most people tend to overlook, considering ibogaine, and its metabolite noribogaine, get all the attention. There are approximately 80 natural and synthetic alkaloids that share the same skeletal structure as ibogaine. (Correction: Surajit says during our conversation that scientists now know of 40-45 additional alkaloids, totaling 120-125 known iboga alkaloids.) Surajit and his colleagues discuss many of them, for example, in their papers titled “Progress in the Synthesis of Iboga-alkaloids and their Congeners” from 2011, and “Total synthesis of ibogaine, epiibogaine and their analogues” from 2012. We’re going to find out just how complex these monoterpenoid indole alkaloids are. Topics of our discussion include: how a global lack of ibogaine-rich Tabernanthe iboga plants motivated Surajit to develop a methodology to synthesize iboga alkaloids for addiction interruption; the three types of iboga-type alkaloid skeletal structures, also known as “scaffolds,” based on the shared ibogamine skeletal structure; iboga-type alkaloids are not radically different from each other; scientists mainly focus on ibogaine, paying little attention to minor alkaloids, leaving plenty of research opportunities to up-and-coming scientists; he and his team were the first to disclose a pure analog of ibogaine; the “cross effect” or phenotypic effect of minor alkaloids could have greater potential than ibogaine; the kind of research he would do in the near and distant future if he had unlimited funding; and finally, the main takeaway is: more research needs to be done and there are still plenty of opportunities to study the chemistry and effects of non-ibogaine iboga-type minor alkaloids. Also, visit my Podcast Supplements article regarding afterthoughts of Surajit and I’s conversation (https://amhouot.com/85-ep3-3_non-ibogaine-iboga-alkaloids_surajit-sinha/).

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Iboganautics is a podcast intended for entertainment purposes only and all content shared on Iboganautics is for entertainment purposes only. This podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional legal or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider or legal counsel with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or legal situation. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on this podcast. Neither Iboganautics nor any of its affiliates, sponsors, producers, guests, or hosts encourage the illegal use of controlled substances.

Dr. Lowan H. Stewart is an emergency physician and was an associate clinical professor who currently resides in Oslo as a result of working with a team to bring the specialty of Emergency Medicine to Norway. Additionally, he has over 20 years of experience with clinical use of ketamine, is a member of the American Society of Ketamine Physicians, founded and served as medical director of the Santa Fe Ketamine Clinic, the first such treatment center in New Mexico, and founded Axon Klinikken, a ketamine-only clinic, in Oslo in 2019, the first of its kind in Scandinavia. I invite Lowan on the podcast to discuss the phenomenology, pharmacology and therapeutic applications of ketamine, a dissociative hallucinogen. As I said in the opening of Dr. Addy and I’s episode on Salvia divinorum, you’re probably wondering why I’m interested in discussing ketamine on an iboga podcast. The reason for this is: N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor, also known as NMDA. Compared to other affected receptor sites, iboga alkaloids seem to be very selective for the NMDA receptor. The main question inspiring this episode is: What can we learn about iboga phenomenology and its visionary state by looking at other hallucinogens that also share affinity for the same receptors as ibogaine or noribogaine? Topics of our discussion include: history of clinical ketamine use; overlap between the dissociativeness of ketamine- and iboga-induced states of consciousness; what NMDA antagonists do to the brain; dissociative drugs’ effects on memory and learning faculties; neurodegeneration and neurogenesis; John C. Lilly’s use of ketamine and/in float tanks; physiological vs. environmental toxicity of psychoactive agents; addictive and abusive potential of ketamine; and what many of his roughly 3000 patients have reported over the years about the phenomenology of the ketamine experience. To find out more about Lowan, visit his website at (https://axonklinikken.no). Also, visit my Podcast Supplements article regarding afterthoughts of Lowan and I's conversation (https://amhouot.com/84-ep3-2_ketamine-iboga-connection-nmda_lowan-h-stewart/).

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Iboganautics is a podcast intended for entertainment purposes only and all content shared on Iboganautics is for entertainment purposes only. This podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional legal or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider or legal counsel with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or legal situation. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on this podcast. Neither Iboganautics nor any of its affiliates, sponsors, producers, guests, or hosts encourage the illegal use of controlled substances.

Dr. Peter H. Addy has a PhD in clinical psychology, conducted postdoctoral research and eventually promoted to faculty member at Yale School of Medicine, and co-founded the Yale Psychedelic Science Group in 2016. In 2018, he started a private practice in psychotherapy, and soon thereafter began offering professional trainings, including one on Salvia neuropharmacology. I invite Peter on the podcast to discuss his academic research of Salvia divinorum, a Mexican psychedelic mint. But you might be wondering why I'm interested, and why you should be interested too, in Salvia considering Iboganautics is a podcast about iboga. The answer is: kappa-opioid receptor. Only a handful of hallucinogens have high affinity for this receptor. Therefore, the main question inspiring this episode in addition to the episode on ketamine this season is: What can we learn about iboga phenomenology and its visionary state by looking at other hallucinogens that also share affinity for the same receptors as ibogaine or noribogaine? Topics of our discussion include: history and traditional use of Salvia divinorum; opioid receptor system; neuronal binding sites; blood pressure and pulse rate considerations; prolactin release by Salvia and iboga; perceived changes in body temperature; Salvia-induced laughter as a possible stress or trauma response; what makes Salvia such a unique, novel, strange, and reportedly “crazy” experience; and phenomenological subthemes that overlap with iboga, such as cartoon-like visual imagery, contact with beings, carnival, spectacle, and tactile and auditory phenomena. To find out more about Peter, visit his website at (https://peterhaddy.com). Also, visit my Podcast Supplements article regarding afterthoughts of Peter and I's conversation (https://amhouot.com/83-ep3-1_salvia-iboga-connection-kappa-opioid_peter-h-addy/).

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Iboganautics is a podcast intended for entertainment purposes only and all content shared on Iboganautics is for entertainment purposes only. This podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional legal or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider or legal counsel with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or legal situation. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on this podcast. Neither Iboganautics nor any of its affiliates, sponsors, producers, guests, or hosts encourage the illegal use of controlled substances.

Welcome to . . . Iboganautics: Unveiling the iboga experience for first-timers and shamans alike. I’m your host, AM. Season 3, Neuro & Plant Science, is about how iboga-type alkaloids affect the human brain; neurophysiological and phenomenological overlaps between iboga and other hallucinogens; iboga botany; and ibogaine extraction methods. The main questions guiding this season are: How does iboga affect the brain, Which plant species produce iboga-type alkaloids, and How do scientists extract or “liberate” alkaloids from wood products? The first two episodes focus on neurophysiological and phenomenological overlaps between iboga and Salvia divinorum, and iboga and ketamine, respectively. Clinical psychologist Dr. Peter H. Addy (ep3.1) speaks about Salvia’s kappa opioid receptor agonist functions and we draw on both of our knowledge to find overlaps between Salvia and iboga. Ketamine clinician Dr. Lowan H. Stewart (ep3.2) and I discuss ketamine and iboga’s dissociative qualities and their shared NMDA receptor antagonist features. Organic chemist Dr. Surajit Sinha (ep3.3) guides us through the non-ibogaine alkaloid landscape, pointing out many other iboga-type alkaloids that get far less attention compared to ibogaine. Organic chemist Dr. Chris Jenks (ep3.4) is (in my opinion) the godfather of iboga extraction for it is he who discovered the extraction and purification process to make total alkaloid (TA) extract, changing the way people can experience iboga. Plant biologist Dr. Felix Krengel (ep3.5) expands upon Jenks’s work and takes extraction and purification of ibogan-type alkaloids to new levels, experimenting with different solvents in addition to focusing on the mostly voacangine-containing Tabernaemontana genus. And plant phenomenologist Dr. Michael Marder (ep3.6) explains what it is like to be a plant from the plant’s perspective and we philosophize about psychedelic plant sentience, intelligence, and agency upon their ingestion by humans. Keep an eye out for additional episodes to be released in Season 3. For more information about me and my work regarding psychedelic technology and philosophy of psychedelics in general, visit my website at https://amhouot.com/

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Iboganautics is a podcast intended for entertainment purposes only and all content shared on Iboganautics is for entertainment purposes only. This podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional legal or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider or legal counsel with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or legal situation. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on this podcast. Neither Iboganautics nor any of its affiliates, sponsors, producers, guests, or hosts encourage the illegal use of controlled substances.

Art Hsieh is Paramedic Program Director for the Public Safety Training Center at Santa Rosa Junior College where he also teaches. His career in emergency medical services spans nearly 40 years, including serving as president of the National Association of EMS Educators, presenting at conferences at home and abroad, and is the author of two books: The Paramedic Companion: A Case-Based Worktext, and EMT Exam for Dummies. I invite Art on the podcast for us to better understand the first responder’s perspective, particularly the paramedic’s, if iboga experiencers take a turn for the worse. It might be uncomfortable calling emergency services after taking an illicit substance, especially when that substance has many health risks, risks you might not have known or prepared for. Things can and do go pear-shaped for some people whether taking iboga at a retreat or in a more underground setting, and anticipating such scenarios literally can save your life. Topics of our discussion include: Art interrogates me paramedic-style about the iboga experience, serving as an example of what to expect when paramedics arrive on scene among other topics; cultural diversity in EMS; cultural competency, also known as “cultural humility”; abating danger through “scene size-up” and “scene safety” considerations; responding to situations in sacred settings; how EMS students are trained to handle non-ordinary states of consciousness; and preparing forward-thinking “cheat sheets” for first responders. Also, visit my Podcast Supplements article regarding afterthoughts of Art and I's conversation (https://amhouot.com/77-ep2-8_first-responders-as-last-resorts_art-hsieh/) and to download the free IBOGA INFORMATION DOCUMENT FOR FIRST RESPONDERS.

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DISCLAIMER

Iboganautics is a podcast intended for entertainment purposes only and all content shared on Iboganautics is for entertainment purposes only. This podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional legal or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider or legal counsel with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or legal situation. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on this podcast. Neither Iboganautics nor any of its affiliates, sponsors, producers, guests, or hosts encourage the illegal use of controlled substances.