Colorado’s Ibogaine Bill Sparks Calls for International Protections Around Sacred Gabonese Plant Medicine
New position paper urges ethical governance, ecological stewardship, and protection of traditional knowledge as global interest in Ibogaine accelerates
BOSTON, MA, and LIBREVILLE, GABON, June 1, 2026 — As Colorado moves toward establishing one of the first state-backed Ibogaine research and regulatory frameworks in the United States, ROOTS Fellowship Foundation is calling for international governance models that recognize Gabon’s sovereign relationship to Iboga and protect the traditional knowledge systems connected to the sacred plant medicine.
This week, ROOTS released a new position paper responding to Colorado House Bill 26-1325, warning that the rapid expansion of global interest in Ibogaine risks outpacing ethical safeguards — unless source-country sovereignty, ecological stewardship, and reciprocal international cooperation are integrated into future policy frameworks from the outset.
The paper, Emerging Ibogaine Regulation, Ethical Governance, and Gabon–United States Cooperation, outlines ROOTS Fellowship Foundation’s position on the accelerating medicalization and regulation of Ibogaine and calls for structured dialogue between Gabonese and American stakeholders on shared governance principles.
Colorado HB26-1325 proposes the creation of a formal Ibogaine Research Pilot Program under the state’s Behavioral Health Administration, expanding Colorado’s broader Natural Medicine regulatory infrastructure and potentially positioning the state as a national leader in regulated Ibogaine treatment. Importantly, the bill includes provisions requiring benefit-sharing plans developed in consultation with Indigenous communities connected to Iboga traditions — language ROOTS views as a meaningful acknowledgment that psychedelic medicines cannot be ethically separated from the communities and cultural systems connected to their origins.
“As Ibogaine increasingly enters mainstream policy and medical discussions in the United States, it is critical that Gabon’s sovereign and cultural relationship to Iboga remains central to how future governance frameworks are developed.”
— Georges Gassita, Gabonese Senior Environmental Lawyer and ROOTS Fellowship Foundation board member
Iboga, from which Ibogaine is derived, is a sacred plant medicine historically connected to spiritual, ceremonial, and healing traditions in Central Africa — and particularly to the cultural and spiritual life of Gabon. ROOTS’ position paper also warns against reductionist biomedical narratives that treat Ibogaine solely as a pharmaceutical compound while disregarding the cultural, spiritual, and ecological systems in which Iboga is embedded.
To that end, ROOTS Fellowship Foundation is calling for expanded bilateral dialogue between Gabonese and American stakeholders on:
Ethical research collaboration
Conservation and sustainability
Traditional knowledge protections
International governance standards
Reciprocal benefit-sharing frameworks
The organization is actively working to support informed, ethical, and culturally grounded international dialogue as psychedelic policy frameworks continue to evolve globally.
“If enacted, Colorado’s framework could become one of the most influential state-level models for Ibogaine research and regulation in the United States. This creates both opportunity and responsibility. The future of Ibogaine governance should be shaped not only by science and regulation, but also by sovereignty, reciprocity, and respect for traditional custodianship.”
— Salome Bissa-Kopasz, founder and executive director of ROOTS Fellowship Foundation
The full position paper is available at this link.
ROOTS Fellowship Foundation is currently accepting tax-deductible donations through its fiscal sponsor, Modern Spirit, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. To learn more, visit www.rootsfellowshipfoundation.org.
ABOUT ROOTS FELLOWSHIP FOUNDATION
ROOTS Fellowship Foundation is a nonprofit initiative dedicated to preserving Indigenous spiritual lineages through community-led healing, education, cultural stewardship, and ethical international collaboration. Operating under the fiscal sponsorship of Modern Spirit, ROOTS supports projects that help ancestral wisdom traditions remain locally governed, ecologically protected, and accessible to future generations. Learn more at www.rootsfellowshipfoundation.org.
ABOUT MODERN SPIRIT
Modern Spirit is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization serving as fiscal sponsor for ROOTS Fellowship Foundation. All donations are tax-deductible. A 5% administrative fee is retained for oversight and reporting. Learn more at modernspirit.org.
MEDIA CONTACT
Jennifer Clemente
Director of Communications
Jennifer.clemente@rootsfellowshipfoundation.org
www.rootsfellowshipfoundation.org