A high-ranking lawmaker is asking Mississippi to use $5 million of opioid settlement money to explore the medical potential of ibogaine, a drug with mixed evidence of its ability to safely treat addiction.

At a meeting Thursday of the House and Senate committees that deal with public health, Republican Rep. Sam Creekmore of New Albany invited testimony from speakers who support the use of the chemical for treating post traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and opioid addiction. Creekmore, who chairs the House Public Health and Human Services Committee, said Mississippi could prevent suicides and drug overdoses by investing in clinical trials that study the drug.

“We cannot keep using the same conventional methods for these ailments and expect different results,” he said.

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