Third Wave host speaks with Paige Alexandra West, founder of the Atario iboga retreat centre in Baja California Sur, about her pathway from supporting detox clients to training in Bwiti-linked practice and undergoing initiation in Gabon. West describes initiation as an intense rite of passage and explains differences she perceives between Misoko and Fang traditions, including her account of working with a women-led village and maintaining an ongoing reciprocity relationship.
A major thread is the tension between iboga as a plant-based ceremonial practice and ibogaine as a medicalised, isolated alkaloid. West argues that commercial incentives in the US healthcare system encourage patentable compounds and can reduce or remove cultural context; she says she would like to see clinics incorporate education about Bwiti and reciprocity with source communities.
West also details operational safety claims at her retreat: pre-screening with EKGs and bloodwork, medication review, on-site clinical staff, emergency preparedness, and the importance of refusing clients where risk is unclear. She outlines situations where she says clients may be referred to ibogaine clinics with continuous monitoring, including current dependence on longer-acting opioids and cases with elevated seizure risk such as alcohol or benzodiazepine withdrawal. The conversation also covers dosing formats (root bark versus total alkaloid extract) and the role of Bwiti music, which West says can be challenging but therapeutically significant.
The episode ends with logistical information about upcoming retreats and how to contact Atario.
Paige Alexandra West says her iboga retreat, Aario, screens prospective participants by reviewing EKGs (including QTc), bloodwork, medical history and medication use, followed by further conversations. She says some applicants who look suitable “on paper” are still refused, and argues commercial pressure to fill beds can weaken safety decisions.
Read this moment →Paige Alexandra West says iboga root bark is unmodified shavings from the plant’s root, sometimes ground down before ingestion. She says “total alkaloid” extract is made by extracting compounds from the root bark to reduce the amount of plant matter consumed while retaining multiple alkaloids. West adds that her team carries out total alkaloid extractions in-house, done by a team member she identifies only as Paul.
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