Marco Algorta, one of the pioneers of the cannabis field in Uruguay, and gastroenterologist Bruno Rasmussen Chaves, from Ourinhos (SP), officially opened the Beneva Clinics with a room in the São Paulo neighborhood of Pinheiros specially prepared for infusions of ketamine as an antidepressant.
In parallel, the doctor continues in the interior – now under the new brand – his work with ibogaine to treat chemical dependence.. With more than 2,500 patients treated, he is the clinical director of Bienestar Wellness Corp., which brought together investors from Uruguay, Panama and Canada to take part in the Brazilian market. in mental health treated with psychedelics.
In the United States, for example, centers for treatment with ketamine injections proliferate. A .” rel=”” target=””>directory of clinics lists more than one hundred North American establishments that offer the therapy. Each infusion ranges from US$300 to US$600, and the treatment may involve six or more of them (at Beneva it will be more affordable, including two sessions with a psychiatrist without the drug infusion).
The opening of Beneva stems from an agreement signed in July between Algorta and Rasmussen Chaves. At the time, Bienestar bought the company BRC Saúde Mental e Terapias Assisted from the doctor and started contacting psychiatric clinics to offer ketamine therapies in the capital (treatments with ibogaine will continue to take place in Ourinhos).
Ketamine and ibogaine are, for now, the two consciousness-altering substances that you can legally work with in the country. Classical psychedelic substances, such as psilocybin from mushrooms and dimethyltryptamine (DMT) from ayahuasca, are not considered to be classic psychedelic substances, which are still being studied against psychiatric disorders and are not yet authorized for clinical use.
As in the case of MDMA (the basis of the recreational drug ecstasy, or “bullet”), there are those who prefer to designate ketamine and ibogaine by a more generic name, entheogen (something like manifesting the divine within). MDMA, which is in the final stages of approval in the US as an adjunct in psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder, is sometimes also called an empathogen.
Ketamine is an ancient dissociative anesthetic, registered with the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa). It has been used “off-label” to treat depression, as it has the advantage of acting faster than antidepressants such as escitalopram.
Entheogen can bring improvement in hours or days, not weeks. This can be decisive for patients with suicidal ideation or who do not obtain results with the available drugs.
Pharmaceuticals Janssen has launched the esketamine variant in the form of a nasal spray for depression treatment. Ketamine crystals, or ketamine, are also used recreationally, inhaled through the nostril..
Ibogaine is originally derived from the African plant Tabernanthe Iboga, used ritually by adherents of the Bwiti religion in Gabon and neighboring countries. In the 1960s, it was discovered that it can remove the “crack” of drug addicts, that is, alleviate symptoms of the withdrawal syndrome and, thus, help prevent relapses.
Rasmussen Chaves started administering ibogaine in 1997. A retrospective study by Unifesp with 75 of its patients indicated that 70% of them remained without abusing illicit or licit drugs (such as alcohol) one year after treatment.
Some Brazilian psychiatrists already use ketamine in their offices, but Beneva is the first national clinic to specialize in this psychedelic therapy and will count on the support of anesthesiologists experienced in the administration of the substance. The plan is to serve both patients from the clinic itself and those referred by other doctors.
In the case of ibogaine, Beneva’s managers expect to also receive patients from abroad, as was already the case occasionally in the clinical practice of Rasmussen Chaves. Drug addicts in the United States and Canada, for example, do not have access to this drug.
In Brazil, this is possible through exceptional authorizations from Anvisa. The drug is not registered in the country, but the agency allows importation, on a case-by-case basis, since 2013 under medical prescription and for individual use.
“It is not a miracle cure,” warns Rasmussen Chaves, “but when used with care and psychological support, it is a valuable alternative treatment for severely addicted patients who do not achieve successful results with other approaches.”
“In addition to being the main market in Latin America, Brazil allows us to apply ibogaine treatments in a regulated and safe way, with a team that has more than 20 years of experience with this unique substance for addiction treatment. [dependência química]”, says Marco Algorta, CEO of Bienstar. “This is an important differentiator, and we trust that it will contribute to our growth.”
Bienstar also intends to enter the Mexican, Panamanian, Peruvian and Uruguayan markets. Its headquarters are in Brazil, due to the critical mass accumulated in psychedelic research, and in Uruguay, because the financial situation there is more reliable.
The company has plans to invest not only in clinics, but also in medical education and public education, as there is still much prejudice against psychedelics fueled by the prohibitionist propaganda of the War on Drugs. With this objective in mind, in 2023 it plans to hold an international event with Brazilian and foreign experts in psychedelic science.
“Brazil has 8 or 9 of the 100 ‘top players’ in [estudos] psychedelics,” says Algorta. “It’s a barn.”
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SERVICE:
Beneva Clinics
Tel. (14) 99792-0232 and (11) 98160-0776
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To learn more about the history and new developments of science in this area, including in Brazil, look for my book “Psiconautas – Travels with Brazilian Psychedelic Science”.
Be sure to also see the reports from the series “A Resurreição da Jurema”:
https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/ilustrissima/2022/07/reporter-conta-experiencia-de-inalar-dmt-psicodelico-em-teste-contra-depressao.shtml
https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/ilustrissima/2022/07/da-caatinga-ao-laboratorio-cientistas-investigam-efeito-antidepressivo-de-psicodelico.shtml
https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/ilustrissima/2022/07/cultos-com-alucinogeno-da-jurema-florescem-no-nordeste.shtml
It is worth remembering that psychedelics are still experimental therapies and certainly do not constitute a panacea for all mental disorders, nor should they be self-medicated. Talk to your therapist or doctor before venturing into the area.
Chad-98Weaver, a distinguished author at NewsBulletin247, excels in the craft of article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a penchant for storytelling, Chad delivers informative and engaging content that resonates with readers across various subjects. His contributions are a testament to his dedication and expertise in the field of journalism.
