Maja Kohek holds a bachelor in social anthropology and working in the field of drug use and drug policy. In the past she has been working with NGO’s in Slovenia, the Balkans and other countries in the field of cannabis. She co-authored several papers, news paper articles, translations and had presentations on a national and international level. Although her past work was focused on cannabis, her true passion lies in the research of psychedelics in therapeutic and social contexts. In 2016 she therefore started collaborating with the International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research & Services (ICEERS) in Spain where she was part of the research group investigating the acute subjective effects of ibogaine.
Due to the lack of studies on the acute subjective effects, the aim of the study was to identify categories and items of the ibogaine experience to gain a better understanding of the internal processes while under its effects. We created a semi-structured interview and recruited 20 individuals who had recently taken ibogaine. The interviews were analyzed according to grounded theory approach. We identified eight categories (physical; sensory; visual; cognitive; auditory; adverse; anti-dependency agent; after-effects) and ten subcategories (open eyes visuals; ancestors and entities; sceneries and landscapes; horrific scenarios; self-psychoanalysis enhancement; empathy, love and prosocial behavior; catharsis; observer quality; ego dissolution; spiritual states) of the acute subjective effects of ibogaine. The study contributes to the advancement of our understanding of ibogaine, its subjective effects, as well as its role in personal growth, prosocial behavior, therapeutic use and anti-dependency treatments.