Advancing Medical Innovations for Veterans: Americans for Ibogaine CEO W. Bryan Hubbard
This is the incubator for the innovation that is baked within the Federalist system.
Texas is taking the lead in advancing the latest medical innovations, particularly for veterans of the armed forces. At the ALEC States and Nation Policy Summit in Fort Worth, TX, Americans for Ibogaine CEO W. Bryan Hubbard outlined his vision for more states becoming innovators in developing these medical treatments. Hubbard also sat down with ALEC TV to detail the results from Ibogaine, a plant-derived molecule, used to treat traumatic brain injury, mental health issues, and medication dependence.
The conversation began with Hubbard outlining the journey to get to this point in Texas. “This has all been a completely unplanned and unexpected journey to speak before 1,000 state legislators about the promise of a natural—the most sophisticated molecule on the planet—which is Ibogaine, comes from a plant,” Hubbard explained. “There have been thousands of Special Forces veterans going back to 2018 who have received treatment with it to overcome what were near-fatal symptoms of traumatic brain injury, mental health debility, as well as dependence on a lot of medications they’ve been given that haven’t treated their problems.”
Hubbard credited the state of Texas for taking the lead in meeting the needs of veterans by allocating $50 million for an FDA drug development trial and expressed hope that it would bring other states into the project. He also noted that the initial efforts originated in Kentucky. “We were on the threshold of success, and we had some unfortunate political interference that used folks in office like a pair of gloves to keep their fingerprints off the assassination of the project, but what was killed in Kentucky was revived in Texas, and now we on the cusp of starting a national movement to make this a reality in America,” he said.
He also noted the potential of state-led initiatives and how organizations such as ALEC can help maximize that potential. “This is the incubator for the innovation that is baked within the Federalist system, where states can solve problems that the federal government either is too large or too ossified to solve themselves, and with the first step taken by Texas to engage in direct drug development to address multiple concurrent public health crises within its borders that are representative of the national reality, there is now a chance for other states to come on board and to run over top of federal inaction, to bring to the people one of the most forward-moving steps in medical science that we have the opportunity to pursue now.”
The conversation also mentioned challenges and opposition faced during the process. Hubbard acknowledged that some people prefer treating symptoms over finding long-term solutions, which can hinder progress. “You got some folks out there that would rather treat symptoms over the course of somebody’s lifetime than give them something two or three times their entire life that might fix their problem. You got a lot of money in treating symptoms, but never making people better, and this is something that has the potential to make people better.”
He later highlighted his relationship with former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, noting that their conversations have been particularly meaningful with respect to faith. “The relationship that I have been able to develop with Governor Perry has been one of the greatest blessings in my life,” Hubbard emphasized. “He and I have discovered that we have kindred minds, hearts, and souls on the necessity of reconnecting human beings to their divinity.”
Taking his message to state legislators, Hubbard urged action and expressed gratitude. “Thank you all for being public servants who are willing to sacrifice your time, talent, and treasure to serve your fellow person. One of the greatest things, perhaps the greatest thing, you can do is make an individual impact to advance a divine emancipation medication that has the potential to lift up and transform millions of lives in a way that nothing else can. It’s a multi-lifetime opportunity to make a generational impact that will change lives not just in the United States, but globally.”