What to know about ibogaine, the drug Presley Gerber used for treatment months before death

What to know regarding ibogaine, the drug Presley Gerber employed for treatment months before death.

Key points

• It's available 24/7 in English and Spanish (TTY: 1-800-487-4889).
• The only son of supermodel Cindy Crawford and businessman Rande Gerber died at Resolutions Living sober living home in the Los Angeles area Sunday, Sept.
• Rachel Hale's role covering Youth Mental Health at USA TODAY is backed by a partnership with Pivotal and Journalism Funding Partners.
• Presley Gerber, the son of Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber, has died at 27.
• More: Cindy Crawford's son Presley Gerber dead at 27 – What we know regarding his death.

What to know regarding ibogaine, the drug Presley Gerber employed for treatment months before death. Rachel Hale USA TODAY. Cindy Crawford's son, Presley Gerber, dies at 27.

Presley Gerber, the son of Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber, has died at 27. He died on Sunday, September 20, at a rehab facility, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner records.

Months before he died, Presley Gerber shared he was using the psychoactive compound ibogaine as a form of treatment.

In practice, the only son of supermodel Cindy Crawford and businessman Rande Gerber died at Resolutions Living sober living home in the Los Angeles area Sunday, Sept. 20, from what the Santa Monica Police Department described as a "suspected overdose." He was 27 years old.

Gerber, who increasingly applied his public platform to discuss depression, addiction and recovery, posted concerning ibogaine in March on Instagram, writing in a caption, "Pre Ibogaine Flood Dose – quiet moment before everything changed."

"Letting go of control didn't come straightforward, but I trusted there was something bigger than me guiding it. I knew why I was there. I faced what I had been running from, and somewhere in all of it, I began finding my way back to myself, " he continued over a video geolinked to Cancun, Mexico. ". Praying it's the last time I have to come back."

Ibogaine is a powerful psychoactive compound that has been applied for decades to treat substance apply disorders.

In practice, the drug's "most striking benefit is its ability to stop opioid withdrawal and eliminate cravings, often after a single session, something no currently approved medication can claim to do, " Joseph Barsuglia, a psychologist who has studied ibogaine for over a decade, previously informed USA TODAY.

When Howard Lotsof, a 19-year old addicted to heroin, tried ibogaine out of curiosity in 1962, derived from a Central African shrub, the drug's ability to reduce withdrawal symptoms and cravings were uncovered by accident.

Lotsof and his friends were shocked to find their cravings had vanished. Though a Food and Drug Administration-approved clinical trial never materialized due to funding disputes, lotsof spent the rest of his life as an advocate, patenting its employ for addiction treatment in 1985 and campaigning for further research on the topic.

Ibogaine is illegal in a number of countries, including the United States and much of Europe. Plenty of Americans travel to places like Mexico for ibogaine treatments, where it can be employed legally.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in April 2026 directing the administration to accelerate research into psychedelic treatments and allocated tens of millions of dollars in federal funding. The executive order only singled out one compound by name – ibogaine – and within days, the FDA began its first U.S.-based trials of an ibogaine-derived drug. How does ibogaine work?

It isn't completely understood how ibogaine works, but scientists know ibogaine affects the brain's reward and pleasure system.

By triggering the release of a natural expansion factor in the brain and modulating neural pathways associated with addiction and reward, ibogaine restores healthy dopamine function and reduces cravings, Barsuglia stated.

Ibogaine works differently from other opioid addiction-treating drugs like methadone or suboxone requiring daily dosing to be effective, Barsuglia remarked. It appears to repair the underlying brain circuitry damaged by addiction.

Jonathan Dickinson, CEO of Ambio Life Sciences. It runs ibogaine clinics in Mexico and Malta, previously informed USA TODAY ibogaine makes the opioid network in your body more sensitive. For example, a person with a high tolerance with opioids would see reduced tolerance under the drug.

It additionally facilitates repair and regeneration of parts of the brain that have been damaged, according to Dickinson.

But a person taking ibogaine could experience a different state of mind, including hallucinations. This experience is "intense and demanding – typically 18 to 36 hours of deep hallucinations and emotional upheaval such that recreational use is essentially unheard of, " Barsuglia previously informed USA TODAY. "It is not a drug anyone takes for a good time."

More: Parents are quietly trying ketamine therapy for their teens. It's highly controversial.

Why is ibogaine not approved in the US, and could that change?

Since 1970, ibogaine has been classified as a Schedule 1 drug, a designation for substances with no at present accepted medical apply and a high potential for abuse.

One reason ibogaine has struggled to win approval previously is a lack of financial incentive, Barsuglia remarked. Since ibogaine is a natural compound that can't be patented and which typically only needs to be administered once, "pharmaceutical companies have little prospect of recouping the enormous cost of running FDA-approved clinical trials."

But there are signs this could change going forward. Along with the recent ibogaine executive order and FDA trials, a number of states within the past few years, including Mississippi, Oklahoma and Tennessee have passed legislation funding ibogaine trials. Gavin Escott and Liza Esquibias contributed reporting.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental and/or substance employ disorders, you can call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's free and confidential treatment referral and information service at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). It's available 24/7 in English and Spanish (TTY: 1-800-487-4889).

Rachel Hale's role covering Youth Mental Health at USA TODAY is backed by a partnership with Pivotal and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input. Reach her at [email protected] and @rachelleighhale on X. SMS Facebook Twitter Email. Share your feedback to support improve our site! Share your feedback to support improve our site!

In short, what to know about ibogaine, the drug Presley Gerber used for treatment is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.