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Ibogaine's promise is that it works better than standard drug addiction treatments, though it has serious dangers and is illegal in many countries, including the United States. There are more orthodox treatments that have been better studied. The U.S. National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) has collected evidence for the effectiveness of various treatments in an online publication. Some treatments are pharmacological and some are behavioral. Medications used include naltrexone, methadone, and buprenorphine, which are given for addiction to opioids such as heroin and cocaine. They are often combined with behavioral therapy. For tobacco addiction, there are nicotine replacement medications and drugs that act to dampen the brain's reaction to nicotine stimulation. For alcohol addiction there is a different set of medications. The guidelines also review the evidence for proper use of behavioral treatments such as cognitive-behavioral therapy. There is also a useful "frequently asked questions" section that covers reasons for addiction and physical mechanisms behind it.
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