That first time, Price took a "flood dose," enough to keep him tripping for hours on end. During this stay, Wilkins started him off with a tiny dose and gradually increased the amount he ingested each day. At the same time, she was weaning him off Oxycontin.
"We reduced your Oxy dose from 240 milligrams to 120 milligrams, in what, two weeks? That's rock 'n' roll!" she says encouragingly.
Extracted from the root bark of the tabernathe iboga plant, ibogaine is a potent hallucinogen — with an intriguing side effect.
Clare Wilkins is director of Pangea Biomedics, a rehab clinic in Tijuana that administers
ibogaine to drug addicts.
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"He was fantastic," she adds proudly. "He developed a routine in his day. He was getting up and watering the garden, and not staying in bed and watching TV. He was walking the dog and wanting to go out — he was eager to go home, not scared."
Now, seated at Pangea's kitchen table, Price reflects on what has been most helpful during his time in Mexico. The ibogaine lessened his cravings for drugs and alcohol, he says, but eventually the effect will wear off.
"It's no magic thing," he says pensively. "It's creating good habits and creating a support system. Ibogaine just strips you of the cells and walls you build up for yourself. It allows you to go AA meetings — which I'll do when I get home. It at least gives you a fighting chance to make your own decision."
