It might only be about two months since the death of Gabriela Kabrins Alban hit the news, but we are yet to receive any substantial details of the scandalously suspicious murder that occurred at the Camps Bay retreat. It seems to be just another one of those weird high-profile murders that South Africans seem to be coming accustomed with.

The latest insight into the accused’s life shows that Diego Dougherty was going to extreme lengths to get clean to save his apparently ‘fractured relationship’ with the victim. The pile of ‘white powder’ that was found in the hotel was apparently for personal use – Diego had a problem.

A ‘friend’ – a tour guide who Diego had come close to during a, ummm, tour – told a reporter that Diego had spent a long time in South Africa trying to get clean. He had taken a trip to a Magaliesburg clinic where he entered himself into a clinic which allowed him to detox and then begin a controversial drug treatment using the psychedelic drug, Ibogaine.

Although the drug is banned in some countries, there is word wide subculture that uses the drug as a way to wield users from addiction. It has been used to treat addiction to methadone, heroin, ethanol, cocaine, methamphetamine, anabolic steroids, and other drugs and can also be used to treat depression and post traumatic stress disorder.

The drug allows users to experience a psychotherapeutic effect during its second phase, helping people conquer their fears and deal with negative emotions. The first phase brings on four to six hours of hallucinations.

Ibogaine has been referred to as an oneirogen, referring to the dreamlike nature of its psychedelic effects. Ibogaine catalyzes an altered state of consciousness reminiscent of dreaming while fully conscious and aware so that memories, life experiences, and issues of trauma can be processed.

Ibogaine alleviates physical withdrawal symptoms of opiate detoxification by resetting and refreshing the opiate receptor sites.

Although the treatment seemed to work for Diego – his tour operator friend reporting that when he returned to Cape Town he looked very well and healthy – it all went downhill for Diego when he booked himself a room at the Grand Daddy Hotel in Long Street mid-June. An area synonymous with the ease of hooking up any street drug you want, Diego apparently took to the night life and drugs. He was supposed to be waiting, clean and sober, for the arrival of the clean-living Gabriela.

A second attempt at rehabilitation was cut short when Diego had to fly to Europe for a wedding.

Diego is currently waiting for a 30-day mental health evaluation and a bed at Valkenberg, but is situated in the hospital section of Pollsmoor Prison until then. He is set to be seen in court on 30 September.

We went to check out more information on the Iboga drug and the results are extremely interesting. Although it is deemed unsafe by a lot of people because there is a substantial lack of research and knowledge on the way it works, there are many websites that claim it’s even better than pharmaceuticals.

We have found that pharmaceutical drugs take longer to recover from than street drugs. They get deep into the body and mind, and create not just a physical or emotional attachment, but a mental dependency as well. There is still a lot of physical recovery needed to really become balanced, and Ibogaine therapy is most effective when combined with the initiation of a healthy lifestyle, but as far as craving and chemical dependency the change occurs rather quickly.

But the psychological effects of the drug – although amazing, need to be taken seriously if the patient wants it to actually work.

The wonderful effects of ibogaine are often mistaken for the short lived afterglow, due to the residual effects of noribogaine and when this has evaporated many people will return to a mood state not dissimilar to their original condition.

The element that will have been changed is that they will have increased self awareness. But self awareness is a double edged sword, it does not in itself change pathology, but increases awareness to it. Ibogaine does not ‘reset the brain’, but discharges psychic tensions of the most imminent personal material, thus relieving some inner tensions and cursory pathological symptomatology. This is not a cure of symptoms but a brief reprieve.

Here are some cool facts surrounding the drug:

1. Ibogaine alleviates physical withdrawal symptoms of opiate detoxification by resetting and refreshing the opiate receptor sites.
2. It has been used for centuries by the Bwiti religion in various healing ceremonies and initiations.
3. Ibogaine is non-addictive and doesn’t need to be taken on a continuing basis. The treatment is only needed to be done once.
4. There are at least 12 international locations that have made a business of providing this “treatment” to drug abusers.
5. The rate of mortality of Ibogaine users is said to be one in 300 persons.
6. In 1962, the anti-addictive property of ibogaine was inadvertently discovered by 19-year-old heroin addict Howard Lotsof. Lotsof was part of an experimental group of mostly 20-something Caucasians attending college. The group, which included seven heroin addicts, shared a common interest in experimenting and subjectively evaluating their experiences with various psychoactive drugs, including Mescaline, LSD, DMT, and psilocybin,60 in an effort to determine the psychotherapeutic value of hallucinogenic drugs.
7. The word iboga (or eboghe) is derived from the Tsogo verb boghaga, which means “to care for”. This may refer to the traditional use of iboga to diagnose illness in African ethnomedicine.
8. In 1864, the first report of the use of Tabernanthe iboga root as a stimulant and aphrodisiac in Gabon and the Congo, was made by Griffon du Bellay, a doctor in the French navy, who took specimens to France.
9. Found in the root, the long-lasting psychedelic has been used traditionally in West African coming of age rituals.
10. A Mitsogho shaman (nganga) in Gabon described to the use of iboga roots by mandrills (you know Rafika from Lion King?) in dominance displays:
    When a male mandrill must engage in combat with another, either to establish his claim to a female or to climb a rung of the hierarchical ladder, he does not begin the fight without forethought. Instead, he first finds and digs up an iboga bush, eating its root; next, he waits for its effects to hit him full force (which can take from one to two hours); and only then does he approach and attack the other male he wants to engage in battle. The fact that the mandrill waits like this to feel the full effect of the drug before attacking demonstrates a high level of premeditation and awareness of what he is doing.

There are no reports that the effects of the drug have anything to do with his de-stabilisation or the murder, but to be fair, there are hardly any reports on much right now. We’ll just have to wait for the trial.

23 days and counting….

[source: sundaytimes]