On the steps of St. Johns the Divine, 110th St and Amsterdam Ave, 8 am to 2 pm Friday, May 18th: Mass Picket to protest exclusion of the Ibogaine cure for addiction and the New York psychedelic movement from the dais in favor of inarticulate stroke victims (Ram Dass), science fiction writers (Robert Anton Wilson), and proponents of MDMA (Stan Grof) and the view that Ibogaine isn't even an entheogen because it doesn't work like LSD (Ralph Metzner). [This according to Dennis McKenna et. al., because it's inactive at the 5HT-2 receptor, the "gate to infinity." Despite Ibogaine's tryptamine-like structure, the fact that the indole ring is bound to the east (in contrast to LSD, which is bound to the north) means it can't get through serotonin-2.

But that doesn't stop it from interrupting addiction to heroin, cocaine, alcohol, nicotine, methamphetamine or methadone--for months or longer--with a single dose or short course of treatments.

Ibogaine's inactivity at the Serotonin 2 (5HT2) receptor would seem to mean that it can validly be termed the "non-trippy tryptamine." Though persons with heavy prior experience of using of 5HT2 active tryptamines (LSD, DMT, psilocybin, etc.) frequently report trippy effects with ibogaine - (dissolution of previously coherent individuality of the sensory and internal stimuli, presence of non-physical visionary components, etc.) - few people without such history relate the same. With 5HT-2 tryps the ego spaces out, while with ibogaine it sinks down. This would seem to provide marked benefits for long-term psychotherapeutic goals in that ibogaine use seems to gradually lead to ego dissolution and openness, whereas use of 5HT-2 tryps more typically leads to selective openness with some degree of ego-reinforcement, not that the latter doesn't also have potentially beneficial effects.

This difference in effect, as a neuropharmacological or psychological phenomena, can be put to use in marketing. The 5HT-2 inactivity is a useful scientific parameter by which ibogaine can be distinguished from its scheduled cousins (US aside) and it's individuality in terms of social application against abuse potential be asserted.