Psychedelics in Recovery from Addiction: Conversations with Kevin Franciotti

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Kevin Franciotti is a Masters addictions counselor, writer, and recovery advocate based in Denver. He is an advisory board member for the Project New Day foundation’s inaugural community-engaged public health project, Psychedelics in Recovery: Outreach and Service, focusing on support for mutual aid groups that advocate the integrative use of psychedelics for ongoing addiction recovery. In 2011, Kevin underwent treatment for opioid use disorder with ibogaine, a drug derived from the iboga shrub indigenous to west-central Africa. He has previously written about his experience in various publications, including New Scientist magazine and TheFix.com.

In this conversation, we dive into Kevin’s addiction and recovery journey. We speak about the role of psychedelics in recovery from substance abuse, and open the question, Is abstinence the only model? 

What you will learn:

• How ibogaine supported Kevin in healing his opiate addiction; and the possibility of making this medicine available in a medical context to help others 
• Why the gateway theory on drugs is bogus, the way taboos on drugs can make them more alluring, and the many problems with the war on drugs (transformative justice please!). Hint: structural and societal flaws proliferate addiction 
• The power of connection and authentic support on the road to recovery; and the importance of the right people working with psychedelic medicine, whether above board or underground
• How and why total abstinence isn’t the only way to stay sober in recovery from addiction. Did you know that Bill Wilson, one of the co-founders of AA, advocated for the use of LSD in recovery? True story. Maybe there is a cure?