Prof. Dr. Johan Söderberg (University of Gothenburg, Sweden) Making Ibogaine into a Medicine: Self-Governance of Risk in a Global Network for Alternative Addiction Treatment
- Datum: 13. January 2027
- Time: 16:15
- Street: Linzer Str. 4
- Location: 28359 Bremen, DE
- Room: 60.070
Abstract:
The controlled substance “ibogaine” is reported to have unique addiction-interrupting properties. Due to its illegal status, the drug’s application for treating substance dependency has been explored by a network of addicts and harm reduction activists in underground and off-shore clinics. Söderberg presents the results of a several year-long, multi-site case study of a global network of ibogaine providers who experiment with the therapeutic properties of Ibogaine while mitigate harm from administrating this potentially cardiotoxic drug. The case study invites us to probe the affordances (or lack thereof) of a medical subculture to create a global governance structure in the absence of public funding and state regulations.
Bio:
Johan Söderberg is Professor in Theory of Science at the University of Gothenburg and a fellow of Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg, Delmenhorst. His most recent book is Resistance to the Current: Dialectics of Hacking (MIT Press, 2022, co-authored with Maxigas). His case studies are drawn from a variety of empirical domains, hacking, addiction care, legal highs, with the aim of illuminating alternative forms of knowledge production and conflicts over expertise and institutional authority.