Former Texas governor and Trump-era Cabinet secretary Rick Perry says he’s found a controversial “miracle drug” that rewired his brain, erased decades of anxiety—and introduced him to the devil.
The 73-year-old Republican, once ridiculed for a viral debate meltdown that derailed his 2012 presidential run, is now on a very different mission: legalizing ibogaine, a potent hallucinogen derived from the root of an African shrub.
“I’ve made it my life’s mission,” Perry told The New York Times. “I’ve seen what it can do for people—especially our veterans suffering from PTSD. I can’t keep quiet about it.”
A 12-Hour Trip into Darkness
In 2023, Perry traveled to an unregulated clinic in Tijuana, Mexico, to try the drug himself. The iboga shrub, used for centuries in Gabonese spiritual ceremonies, is known for triggering intense visions said to connect people with spirits.
Perry’s vision was less angelic.
“Objects were flying past me—some looked like Mayan symbols,” he recalled. “Then I saw this arm reach out… attached to a figure with horns. I heard myself say, ‘Satan, get behind me.’ And just like that—it was gone.”
The trip lasted 12 hours. He vomited repeatedly, lost his balance, and needed an entire day to recover. Yet Perry says he emerged feeling “reborn,” with brain scans allegedly showing dramatic improvements.
A Drug with Both Miracles and Risks
Ibogaine has been described by advocates as capable of halting addiction, reducing suicide rates, even reversing neurodegenerative decline. It’s banned in the United States, but available in clinics abroad—often for steep prices.
Not all journeys end well. In 2022, a 49-year-old New Yorker died two days after paying $12,500 for ibogaine treatment at a Mexican clinic—one that had also treated “Wolf of Wall Street” Jordan Belfort. The cause of death was never released.
Former Arizona senator Kyrsten Sinema also tried ibogaine this year, hoping to stave off dementia. “It was the opposite of pleasant,” she admitted.
From ‘Oops’ to Advocacy
Perry’s advocacy is rooted in his own history of head injuries—three serious concussions—and the anxiety that haunted him through two failed White House runs.
His 2012 campaign collapsed after a humiliating debate moment in which he forgot the third federal agency he wanted to abolish. “I can’t, sorry,” he stammered, before adding the now-infamous “Oops.” Ironically, the agency—Energy—later became the one he led under President Donald Trump in 2017.
A Pitch to the President Who Mocked Him
Perry says he hopes to convince Trump to back ibogaine for veterans. That may be tricky. Just last month, Trump called Perry “not the smartest bulb” and quipped, “You don’t want him on your debate team.”
The insult may stem from lingering resentment over the 2019 Ukraine phone call that sparked Trump’s first impeachment—a call Trump claims Perry encouraged.
Still, Perry is unfazed. “In the end, Trump is very transactional,” he said. “And honestly? I wouldn’t want me on my debate team either.”
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