Kirran Ahmad

Ibogaine is being researched and developed in the West for opiate use disorders with a Phase 1/2a trial currently underway. Whilst there are promising results in addiction treatments we need to consider the indigenous perspective. One hundred years of Ibogaine interest has had direct impact on the natural resource, Tabernanthe Iboga shrub, found throughout the rainforests in Gabon, Central West Africa. International demand has caused an increase in Iboga and ivory poaching leading to deforestation which has threatened the entire culture and way of life for the Gabonese people. Blessings of the Forest (BOTF), a Community Interest Company, was created in response to these issues who are working under the Nagoya protocol framework.Doctor Kirran Ahmad has worked in the National Health Service for over ten years and is currently specialising in anaesthesia and pain management with an interest in addictions. In 2021 she joined Imperial’s Centre for Psychedelic Research where she is working across a number of exciting studies from psilocybin in chronic pain to ketamine PET imaging.