Former Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has found a new calling: pushing for psychedelic medicine, specifically a psychoactive drug called ibogaine. Sinema, a Democrat-turned-Independent who left the Senate and now works at the Hogan Lovells law and lobbying firm, tells Politico she is advocating pro bono for clinical trials and FDA approval of ibogaine, which she personally traveled to Mexico to try. She sees a rare window of opportunity with the current administration's health department, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is known for his support of psychedelics as potential treatments for mental health issues, particularly among veterans with PTSD.
"We are in this magical, unique time," Sinema said at a recent Americans for Ibogaine conference, noting the bipartisan mix of attendees, from "super conservative" Trump supporters to "full-on hippies." She argues that advocates should "strike while the iron is hot" under Kennedy's MAHA, or Make America Healthy Again, movement, and describes her relationship with him as a close one.
Ibogaine remains controversial, with the DEA classifying it as a drug with no accepted medical use, and concerns about heart risks. Sinema has been working to change that, notes the Arizona Republic. She testified before a Senate panel in March and has helped secure state funding for research in both Texas and Arizona. Sinema describes resistance from the medical establishment—especially in blue states—as rooted in skepticism about psychedelics and, perhaps, political discomfort with conservative support for the cause.
But "in a conservative's brain, psychedelics are not a drug—they are a medicine," she says, contrasting that with the left's historic embrace of psychedelics as both healing and recreational. Sinema's own experience with ibogaine was, she says, grueling—"it's not a fun medicine"—but left her feeling "crystal-clear. Sharp, sharp is the word. My brain feels snappy."
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