CEOs, celebs and bored empty-nester moms are dropping $20K to take the Mount Everest of psychedelics in Mexico

Mike Stratton was on a “hell ride,” unable to move, as visions laid bare buried thoughts, resentments and destructive habits that had eroded his quality of life.This was the 34-year-old’s first encounter with ibogaine, a compound extracted from plants native to Africa that is sometimes called the “Mount Everest” of psychedelics.“I remember being stuck in that loop for what felt like months or years,” Stratton, the co-founder of Marek Health, told The Post.Ibogaine has drawn interest for its potential to treat substance use disorders and, more recently, traumatic brain injuries and PTSD.Before his overdose death, Cindy Crawford’s son, Presley Gerber, talked about turning to the psychoactive substance in a bid to “rewire” his brain in the face of addiction.Gerber — who did his treatment at Beōnd Ibogaine in Cancún, Mexico — said it helped him face “what I had been running from, and somewhere in all of it, I started finding my way back to myself.”But a growing number of people are seeking out ibogaine not to ease addiction or trauma, but to transform lives that already look successful from the outside.“We’re starting to see leaders, whereas before, people were coming to us because it was life or death,” said Talia Eisenberg, co-founder of Beōnd Ibogaine.

“The fastest-growing segment is health and optimization.”Ibogaine is a Schedule I controlled substance in the US and is not approved for medical use, but it is permitted in Mexico, making the country a destination for Americans seeking treatment.Burned-out professionals, celebrities, biohackers, empty nesters searching for purpose and retirees contemplating their next chapter are among those traveling to clinics south of the border.Some now explicitly market to that crowd, touting ibogaine for “spiritual growth,” “existential clarity” and “peak performance.”For Stratton, the pursuit of optimization opened the door to something deeper.“I came for performance and I...