NL1 was probably the most severely addicted subject in the study and had been abusing heroin for 12 years, except for one year during a residential detoxification programme. As well as injecting heroin daily and a regular intake of methadone he reported taking alcohol to intoxication in 15 out of 30 days prior to taking ibogaine and was inebriated with heroin and methadone at the time of treatment. He took methadone shortly afterwards "To see what it was like" and, being dissatisfied with the effect, remained drug-free until a trip to India. It was during this trip that his heroin abuse resumed. Three months later he expressed his desire to repeat the ibogaine treatment but was unable to do so. This subject has been independently documented (ICASH, 1990a).

NL2 was the partner of NL1 and had been abusing heroin for 4 years prior to treatment, although a 15-month remission in her drug-taking had occurred which had ended 6 months previously. For 3 months prior to taking ibogaine she had been smoking heroin daily. The subject panicked, fearing withdrawal, and took heroin during the treatment period but it had little effect. This subject has also been independently documented (ICASH, 1990a) and a personal account of her experiences is in circulation (ICASH, 1990b). Following an extended period after taking ibogaine during which she remained drug-free, this subject reverted to intermittent use of heroin to combat period pains, a level of consumption which she insisted she was capable of sustaining.

CH1 had been sniffing heroin daily for over 12 months prior to treatment and was being cared for and discouraged from heroin abuse by a non-addicted male friend in what appears in retrospect to have been a classical case of the addict/co-addict syndrome. CH1 had been injured in two industrial accidents to which a contributory factor was his background of drug abuse and intoxication at work. This subject took the lowest dose of all the subjects but despite the treatment initially appearing to have an encouraging outcome, drug abuse recontinued after only two days. He was observed for several days 3 months after treatment and was entirely free of heroin use during that time but the treatment was otherwise completely unsuccessful.

NL3 had a long history of hard drug abuse, being addicted to heroin for 12 years and both heroin and methadone for 4 years prior to treatment with ibogaine. He also had a hepatitis condition. Heroin was being injected intravenously up to and including the eve of treatment with ibogaine. This subject took the highest dose of all the subjects and experienced the most marked side-effects, including temporary paralysis of the leg 3 days post-treatment. The duration of ibogaine psychoactivity was also particularly long. The subject smoked heroin 3 times against insomnia shortly after treatment but otherwise completely abandoned his addictions to both heroin and tobacco, also reporting a reduced alcohol consumption in the months after taking ibogaine.

NL4 was the partner of NL3 and had been addicted to heroin for 6 years, smoking heroin daily at the time of treatment. Ibogaine psychoactivity lasted 38 hours with no nausea. She suffered concentration difficulties for over a month after taking ibogaine, saying that she was "very introspective" during this period. The subject also gave up tobacco and said that she felt relieved and happy to be free from her heroin addiction. Her gain in weight and general healthy appearance several weeks after taking ibogaine was the subject of some comment.

UK1 was a worker in a medical environment giving him ready access to the codeine tablets to which he had become addicted. He was an experienced drug user and had been addicted to heroin several years previously. He was the only subject to have taken ibogaine whilst not under immediate supervision. The substance was taken according to written instructions and he spent most of the treatment period alone and in contemplative mood. A liveliness characteristic of the immediate after-effects of ibogaine was evident when the subject was seen a few days later, at which time he reported that he had been able to cease his codeine consumption immediately. His alcohol consumption also fell. He likened his sense of rejuvenation after taking ibogaine to that experienced following a two-week holiday abroad.