Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Dustin Burrows, speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, announced $50 million will be put toward research on ibogaine, a psychedelic drug, on March 31.

In June 2025, Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law a bill that would allocate $50 million towards this research in partnership with a state university, drug developer and a hospital. However, no drug companies submitted proposals that met standards and requirements to begin clinical trials, so the state will fund the research entirely instead.

Ibogaine is a compound produced in the root bark of an African shrub and is often administered in its purified form, ibogaine hydrochloride, said Greg Fonzo, an assistant professor at the Dell Medical School. Fonzo is the co-director of the Charmaine and Gordon McGill Center for Psychedelic Research and Therapy.

“It has this cool, interesting property of being able to alleviate opioid withdrawal symptoms in folks that are dependent and then also producing a very intense psychedelic experience where oftentimes people can gain insight into patterns in their life,” Fonzo said. “That combination seems to be helpful in allowing people to get off opioids and also to maintain sobriety (afterward).”

Along with opioid withdrawal symptoms, ibogaine has become popular in the veteran community to treat conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, Fonzo said. However, ibogaine is currently illegal in the U.S., and people often go to countries where it is legal for treatment, such as Mexico, Fonzo said.

“The problem is, if it’s illegal on the federal level, there’s really not much the state can do about it,” said Randy Erben, adjunct professor at the School of Law. “The state can do some things, but it all doesn’t mean anything until the federal government takes action.”

After research begins, getting approval to legally administer ibogaine in Texas from the Food and Drug Administration can take between seven and 10 years, Fonzo said.

“Part of the motivation with this bill is to try to shorten that process and try to accelerate it, but it takes time to do these studies, to accumulate the data,” Fonzo said. “There’s a lot of regulatory stuff involved in administrative work. So, there’s only so much you can do to accelerate that process.”

This announcement came at about the same time as further restrictions on tetrahydrocannabinol-infused, or THC, products. Businesses were banned from selling smokable hemp products beginning March 31, when new state regulations went into effect. However, a Travis County district judge has temporarily blocked the ban until April 23.

The Glassmith owner, Billy Marsden, said if ibogaine can help someone, overall it is a “good thing,” but criticized Texas for limiting other substances at the same time.

“The hypocrisy of what’s allowed and when is really wild,” Marsden said.