Michigan House Bill 6020 would advance ibogaine research for PTSD, opioid addiction, and brain injuries

A version of the following public comment was submitted to the Michigan House of Representatives Family and Veterans Affairs Committee on June 2, 2026.

House Bill 6020 would authorize an in-state grantee to undertake research on ibogaine, conducting clinical trials with a goal of securing Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the medical use of ibogaine. Michigan would join Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas in the groundbreaking multi-state effort to conduct federal clinical trials.

Ibogaine is a naturally occurring alkaloid found in the tabernanthe iboga plant, which grows in West Africa. A growing body of research shows ibogaine holds enormous promise in treating a wide range of neurological conditions, including traumatic brain injury (TBI) and opioid use disorder (OUD). Recent research and brain scans have revealed that ibogaine is neurogenerative-meaning it builds new, healthy brain tissue or repairs damaged brain tissue. Unfortunately, because ibogaine is currently classified as a Schedule I drug through the federal Controlled Substances Act, patients can only access these treatments legally outside the United States.

HB 6020 does not attempt to bypass existing federal regulations to legalize ibogaine or ibogaine treatment. It would only support a research effort consistent with the standard regulatory pathway for pharmaceutical approval governed by the FDA. Supervised ibogaine treatment administration by qualified physicians would be permitted only following protocols approved by the FDA as part of an investigational new drug application.

Over the past decade, the medical community has increasingly recognized the potential of psychedelic therapies for the treatment of mental health conditions and addiction.

Research by Stanford University published in Nature Medicine in 2024 found that ibogaine treatment immediately led to significant improvements in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety in a cohort of special operations veterans suffering from TBI. According to Stanford Medicine, "One month after treatment participants experienced average reductions of 88% in PTSD symptoms, 87% in depression symptoms and 81% in anxiety symptoms," relative to their condition prior to treatment.

Another study showed treatment with ibogaine consistently and immediately reduces both physical withdrawal symptoms from opioid addiction and psychological dependence. In a small-scale study, 75% of patients remained abstinent from opioids for an entire year following treatment.

We believe it is critical to study ibogaine and unlock its full treatment potential. If research can demonstrate the safety and efficacy of ibogaine through clinical trials, it will offer a path for treatment to millions of Americans suffering from costly and often lethal mental health problems, including PTSD, OUD, and potentially neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's, although research is further away for these indications.

I want to highlight a key fiscal reality for all states: Opioid addiction treatment is overwhelmingly financed by state Medicaid programs. Existing treatments like methadone or buprenorphine essentially amount to an opioid maintenance regime and yield very low success rates. Studies show patients achieve opioid abstinence in less than 20% of cases, and many re-enter treatment programs multiple times over the course of their lives, leading to hundreds of thousands of dollars in state Medicaid expenses. Ibogaine acts differently by restoring the brain's balance of neurotransmitters, giving the patient the ability to achieve opioid abstinence immediately after a single treatment. This option could save states hundreds of thousands of dollars per patient and lead to actual recovery, where current options too often lead to death and despair.

The enormous potential of ibogaine has led many Americans to seek ibogaine treatment outside the United States. These therapies are available in Mexico, Costa Rica, and elsewhere in Latin America, but patients must pay out-of-pocket. After years of advocacy by veterans' organizations and researchers to allow access to ibogaine treatment in the United States, a bipartisan coalition of Texas state legislators voted to fund the first American ibogaine research program in 2025. The legislation, Senate Bill 2308, came with a $50 million appropriation from the state's general fund, which required an additional $50 million from outside investment. While those sums are significant, they are insufficient to complete all three phases of clinical trials. Texas needs partner states to bring this project to completion. In less than a year, the consortium has already grown to six states, and additional legislatures continue to weigh the issue. Support for ibogaine research has been strongly bipartisan, and many votes in support of this legislation have been unanimous.

As the number of states authorizing clinical trials has grown, we have seen increased federal interest and support for the effort. The president of the United States recently issued an Executive Order supportive of research into ibogaine. It "allocate(s) at least $50 million from existing funds to support and partner with State governments that have enacted or are developing programs to advance psychedelic drugs for serious mental illnesses, including through Federal funding, technical assistance, and data sharing as appropriate and consistent with applicable law." States in the multistate consortium can capitalize on this federal support.

Michigan can join the national effort by adopting HB 6020, which would authorize a grant from the state's opioid settlement fund to a qualified in-state research entity that would partner with the multistate research consortium to conduct clinical trials right here in Michigan. The in-state entity must meet several requirements, including the ability to secure matching funds. The legislation prioritizes patient safety and scientific rigor, requiring a grantee to follow the exact protocols approved by the FDA as part of the investigational new drug application secured by the research consortium. The data generated by these local trials in Michigan and other partner states would eventually aggregate into a consolidated new drug application before the FDA.

This combination of in-state research and multi-state collaboration allows states to be part of a historic effort to conduct state-led clinical trials, with long-term benefits at home for participating states. States in the consortium will enter into a profit-sharing agreement with the selected pharmaceutical partner, ensuring that a successful application will result in compensation for state partners. In addition, the bill allows local residents to participate in the clinical trials. By adopting HB 6020, the legislature has a chance to help Michiganders and to join the nationwide effort to advance mental health and addiction care.

We urge the committee's favorable consideration of HB 6020. This legislation will advance groundbreaking research, ensure Michigan is at the forefront of advances in treatment, and, most importantly, advance healing for many Americans.