Ibogaine is a real drug. It's a psychoactive alkaloid extracted from plants in the Apocynaceae family that grow in Central America. It has been used in traditional medicine for centuries, mostly ritual purposes within African spiritual traditions. Ibogaine's potential to treat drug addiction was first discovered in 1962, and limited studies have been done to determine its effectiveness at treating addiction. The largest study was done in the early 1990s, but concerns about cardiotoxicity and neurotoxicity led to termination of those studies. There is currently insufficient data to determine whether it is useful in treating addiction. Nonetheless, some alternative medicine clinics administer ibogaine for this purpose. Derivatives of ibogaine that lack the substance's psychedelic, cardiotoxic and neurotoxic properties are under development, though it will be some time before these derivatives are ready for human trials.
The United States outlawed ibogaine in 1967, alongside other psychedelics. As of 2024, Ibogaine is still illegal, and classified as a Schedule I-controlled substance in the United States.
Waking dreams are an experience one has while they are awake, that feels similar to dreaming. Hypnagogic hallucinations, also sometimes referred to as waking dreams, are a type of hallucination that occurs as a person is drifting off to sleep.
Martin Gold (James Frain) calls Enzo Cooke (Ryan Kelley) "Judas". Judas Iscariot was one of the Twelve Apostles. He is notorious for betraying Jesus by disclosing Jesus' whereabouts for 30 pieces of silver. Judas brought men to arrest Jesus, and identified him with a kiss. Jesus was then arrested, tried, and executed.
Both BD Wong(series regular) and James Frain(guest star) have appeared in Gotham(2014). As Hugo Strange and Theo Galavan respectively.