House approves bill to fund controlled clinical trials of ibogaine for addiction and trauma

Chairman Jim, speaking as sponsor on the House floor, described House Bill 314 as a narrowly framed program to authorize the Department of Health to select and fund a consortium to conduct FDA‑regulated clinical trials of ibogaine aimed at treating opioid use disorder, co‑occurring substance use disorders and neurological or mental‑health conditions.

The bill requires the consortium to include a drug developer, an in‑state institution of higher learning and an in‑state hospital, and to file an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. "This act authorizes the state department of health to select and fund a consortium to conduct an Ibogaine drug development clinical trial aimed at securing FDA approval for treating opioid use disorder, co‑occurring substance use disorder, and neurological mental health conditions that shows Ibogaine efficacy," the sponsor said.

The sponsor said the measure does not legalize ibogaine for general use; it confines activity to FDA‑regulated research and to any future FDA‑approved medical use. The bill requires private matching funds before state dollars are dispersed and specifies that at least 20% of revenue from resulting intellectual property or commercialization would flow to the state general fund.

Members asked whether the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) supported the measure and whether the VA had administered ibogaine to veterans. The sponsor said the VA had been "very supportive" and had offered to host trials but had not, to his knowledge, administered ibogaine in VA hospitals. He also described the treatment as delivered in clinical settings with extensive screening, monitoring and contraindication checks because of cardiotoxicity risks.

Lawmakers pressed on why statute was needed if private pharmaceutical research could occur without a state law; the sponsor said production and commercial interest have been limited and that a state incentive could draw developers and academic partners into trials. He cited a proposal to use a portion of opioid‑settlement funds as initial incentive money and described a $5,000,000 state contribution matched by industry as an example of how the program could be funded.

The House voted on final passage after debate and recorded 110 yeas and 1 nay; the bill passed.

The sponsor said the measure aims to keep Mississippi within FDA oversight, protect patients through clinical standards, require private matching funds, and ensure the state shares in any future commercial benefit. The measure takes effect July 1, if enacted.