The head of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is reiterating that he’s “very open” to expanding access to psychedelics therapy for veterans—emphasizing that he’s intent on finding ways to “cure” people with serious mental health conditions and not just treat their surface-level symptoms.
VA Secretary Doug Collins, in an interview with Newsmax TV, posted a clip of the video to X Sunday. Collins discussed stories of the therapeutic potential of psychedelics, such as ibogaine, and DMT. Collins stressed the fact that VA was “very serious” when it came to tapping into this potential.
Collins said that VA, either internally or via private partnerships, is currently conducting around a dozen trials on “various substances where we are seeing really great results,” such as one at VA Bronx Health Care which investigates MDMA-assisted treatment with “actually very good results.”
He said that the VA was working closely with HHS and FDA to find ways to increase the number of clinical trials and to “get this into testing so that more veterans can use it.”
Collins was shown during the interview a clip from Navy SEAL Rob O’Neill who murdered Osama bin Laden. O’Neill talked about his theory, that the government intentionally hasn’t provided access to psychedelic medicines because they are less lucrative than long-term treatment. Collins replied, “I will tell you now that this secretary of veterans affairs and I, we want to heal the people.”
“I wish to heal people. I want to return them to their normal lives. “I want them to live productive, happy lives with their family,” said he. As a vet who has seen it many times, I don’t like to put us through treatments. We’re now focused on finding cures.
“I would like to be very clear about this: I am very open to it.” “I want it to be moved because I think it will help our vets,” said the secretary. “But also, you know, one of the things we have to be very careful of—and I think, you know, as much respect as I have for those talking about it, they may not be the solution for everybody. “But if this is a good solution for someone, then I’m going to do my best to see that it happens.”
“So as we deal with it in the VA—and we are starting more and more trials and working through it—we have our doctors, our psychiatrists and others who are there who can do the administration of the drug then actually watch, listen and talk to the individuals,” he said. “What we’re finding a lot of times is a mix of not only an application of treatment, but also an intensive counseling with that is showing numbers to be really, really good—lowering the levels, lowering those anxieties, lowering those fears. So, look at me. I won’t ever put anything on the side for veterans.
Collins acknowledged, though, that “a great deal of this is still tied to regulation within the federal government.”
“But we’re working with HHS to say, ‘How can we move forward on these things so people aren’t having to go elsewhere, out of country to other places, to get these treatments?’ He said that he wanted to ensure we were doing the best for veterans in this country.
Last week, a GOP controlled House committee passed an amendment to the defense bill which must be approved. The amendment required a report on the progress of a psychedelic treatment pilot program that is currently being conducted for veterans and active military personnel.
Morgan Luttrell’s (R) amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act was approved by the House Armed Services Committee as part of a massive package of modifications proposed for the NDAA.
In the 2024 NDAA, DOD was required to create a procedure by which military personnel with traumatic brain injuries or post-traumatic disorder (PTSD), could take part in clinical trials involving psilocybin MDMA and 5-MeO DMT.
The House Rules Committee, led by Luttrell, blocked last week a bipartisan addition to the spending bill that would have provided another $10 million for DOD to fund clinical trials to investigate the therapeutic potentials of substances like ibogaine or psilocybin.
Meanwhile, bipartisan congressional lawmakers recently met with the VA secretary to discuss pathways to provide access to psychedelic medicine as an alternative treatment option for conditions such as PTSD.
After requesting the meeting with VA Secretary Doug Collins in May, Reps. Lou Correa (D-CA) and Jack Bergman (R-MI)—founding co-chairs of the Congressional Psychedelic Advancing Therapies (PATH) Caucus—said the three had a productive conversations about advancing psychedelics therapy for the veteran community.
Collins is a VA Secretary that’s particularly passionate about exploring how substances such as MDMA and ibogaine can provide relief for serious mental illnesses. She coordinates her efforts with others, including HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) separately said the psychedelic ibogaine represents an “astonishing breakthrough” in the nation’s current “sick care system” that’s left people with serious mental health conditions without access to promising alternative treatment options—and he intends to use his influence to advance the issue.
Separately, the U.S. House of Representatives recently included an amendment to a spending bill from Correa and Bergman that would encourage VA to support research into the benefits of psychedelics in treating medical conditions commonly affecting military veterans.
Collins, for his part, also disclosed in April that he had an “eye-opening” talk with Kennedy about the therapeutic potential of psychedelic medicine. Collins said he was open to the notion of the government providing vouchers for the cost of psychedelic treatment for veterans that receive VA services.
The secretary’s visit to the psychedelics research center came about a month after the VA secretary met with a military veteran who’s become an advocate for psilocybin access to discuss the therapeutic potential of psychedelic medicine for the veteran community.
Collins also briefly raised the issue in a Cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump in April.
Correa and Bergman separately introduced a bill in April to provide $30 million in funding annually to establish psychedelics-focused “centers for excellence” at VA facilities, where veterans could receive novel treatment involving substances like psilocybin, MDMA and ibogaine.
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Bergman has also expressed optimism about the prospects of advancing psychedelics reform under Trump, arguing that the administration’s efforts to cut spending and the federal workforce will give agencies “spines” to tackle such complex issues.
Kennedy, for his part, also said in April that he had a “wonderful experience” with LSD at 15 years old, which he took because he thought he’d be able to see dinosaurs, as portrayed in a comic book he was a fan of.
Kennedy criticized the FDA’s prior administration for “suppressing psychedelics”, and other matters that, he claimed, amounted a “war against public health”. He said that this would be ended under Trump.
In December, VA separately announced that it’s providing $1.5 million in funding to study the efficacy of MDMA-assisted therapy for veterans with PTSD and alcohol use disorder (AUD).
Last year, VA’s Yehuda also touted an initial study the agency funded that produced “stunning and robust results” from its first-ever clinical trial into MDMA therapy.
Shereef Enahal, the ex-VA Under Secretary of Health who served under Shereef in VA from 1996 to 1999 said “it was very encouraging” when Trump chose Kennedy to head HHS and was supportive of reforms relating psychedelics. And he hoped to work with him on the issue if he stayed on for the next administration, but that didn’t pan out.
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