Texas Awards $50 Million to Statewide Ibogaine Research Consortium

Texans for Greater Mental Health (T4GMH) celebrates the historic announcement that the State of Texas has awarded $50 million to a statewide research consortium-led by University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB Health) and UTHealth Houston-to conduct clinical trials evaluating ibogaine for addiction, PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and related behavioral health conditions. This represents a first-of-its-kind research effort and a defining milestone in Texas’s continued leadership on psychedelic research and treatment innovation.

The University of Texas System has played a foundational role in shaping the statewide and national landscape for psychedelic research and policy. That leadership began in 2021 with the establishment of the Charmaine and Gordon McGill Center for Psychedelic Research and Therapy at Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin, whose research helped transform legislative understanding of psychedelic-assisted therapies.

The McGill Center’s work was crucial to the passage of the Texas Ibogaine Initiative (SB 2308), which delivered the most significant public investment in psychedelic research in world history. Today’s announcement ensures that the McGill Center will continue to play a key role in this field as part of the new consortium.

T4GMH is thrilled to see a broad, statewide coalition of leading academic and clinical partners collaborating on this groundbreaking effort. The inclusion of Baylor College of Medicine, the only institution already conducting state-funded psychedelic research under HB 1802 in 2021, is particularly significant. The consortium also includes: Texas Tech University, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, The University of Texas at Austin, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, The University of Texas at Tyler, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Texas A&M University, The University of North Texas Health Science Center, and JPS Health Network in Dallas.

This wide-ranging collaboration reflects a comprehensive commitment to rigorous, safe, and transparent research that centers on patient outcomes, especially for veterans and individuals facing treatment-resistant mental health conditions. With this investment, Texas reaffirms its position as the national leader in advancing evidence-based psychedelic-assisted therapy research. The work undertaken through this consortium will shape clinical practice, inform policy development, and expand future treatment options across the country.

T4GMH is proud to support the researchers, clinicians, lawmakers, and community partners who made this moment possible. We look forward to the groundbreaking science that will come from this next chapter of the Texas Ibogaine Initiative.

For additional details on the consortium and grant award: