Representatives of veterans service groups (VSOs), who spoke to members of Congress last week, said that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs should explore medical marijuana and psychedelics therapy. They also urged VA to expedite treatment if these alternative therapies are proven effective.
According to one key group, the classification of drugs like MDMA, cannabis and psilocybin as Schedule I is a barrier for therapeutic use.
At joint hearings before the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees on Tuesday and Wednesday, lawmakers took testimony from the VSOs—and one theme that emerged was the need to support research and access for marijuana and psychedelics, particularly as it concerns VA.
Rep. Jack Bergman’s (R-MI) co-chairmanship of the Congressional Psychedelics Advancing Therapies Caucus asked Daniel Contreras, National Commander of Disabled American Veterans(DAV), what he believed VA should do to “advance the promising field of that area. [psychedelic] Medicine through Research”
Contreras stated it is DAV’s view that “we ought to consider alternatives.” Contreras said that his personal experience with this issue is that the psilocybin was used in therapy for his wife, and that it’s important to have other options.
Joy Ilem, national legislative director of DAV, followed up, advising the committees that “we want to make sure the research is available and that VA can expedite that to the field as soon as—as long as it’s efficacious and it can benefit veterans.”
Bergman’s conclusion was that “we shouldn’t discount anything because we don’t understand it.” It’s the only way we can improve.
DAV’s written submissions ahead of the hearing on Tuesday stated that it supports legislation “directing VA to research effective psychedelic substances for treating mental conditions and traumatic head injury,” and also federal research “to determine the medical efficacy” of cannabis in the treatment of disabled service-connected veterans.
Another VSO, the American Legion, submitted testimony for Wednesday’s hearing noting that it “continues to observe advances in research for emerging therapies, including psilocybin, cannabis, ketamine, methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and ibogaine.”
James LaCoursiere, American Legion spokesperson said that VA is actively researching MDMA and Psilocybin as treatments for post-traumatic anxiety. The use of ketamine for medical purposes has been allowed in certain facilities. In addition, marijuana has now been decriminalized, legalized, and made available to citizens across the country.
He said that the FDA had already designated psilocybin as “breakthrough therapy”.
The American Legion calls on Congress to adopt legislation that would allow for FDA-approved research on certain drugs and educational studies to determine their positive effects on mental health recovery.
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While the VSO Wounded Warrior Project discussed the “emerging treatment” options that Congress and VA should examine, it also mentioned psychedelic therapies that might “offer new opportunities for treating”. [substance use disorder] You can treat chronic pain in conjunction with mental illness.”
“Emerging treatment modalities for PTSD, such as psychedelic assisted therapies, have the potential to advance PSTD treatment from a ‘one-size fits all approach’—which has been proven to not be effective for all—to an individualized model of care where the treatment plan is tailored to the needs of each unique veteran and augmented based on symptomology and responsiveness to treatment,” WWP CEO Lt. Gen. Walter Piatt (Ret.) said.
The MDMA-assisted PTSD psychotherapy has proven to be very promising in numerous studies. It is also safe for clinical trials. “However, access to those seeking these types of emerging modalities is extremely limited—forcing veterans to pursue care outside of the country, and at times, using unsafe avenues. VA should and can be at the forefront of this field.
He also referenced VA’s recently announced $1.5 million investment into a study exploring MDMA-assisted therapy for veterans with PTSD and alcohol use disorder
This research is crucial to advancing research and access innovative therapies, but the field has still fundamental questions that need to be answered. The Veterans Health Administration will be unable to treat all veterans who want MDMA assisted therapy following FDA approval due to a variety of factors, including veteran demand, availability of providers, and costs. While some VA facilities are ready to offer this type of therapy on a limited scale as potential treatment centers for psychedelics, we realize that demand could put the system under even more strain. As such, we are committed to helping advance further research to help bring safe, effective treatments to market – and scale.”
WWP has also expressed support for certain pieces of legislation in Congress, such as a bipartisan law directing the Department of Defense (DoD) to conduct studies on the potential therapeutic benefits of certain psychedelics when treating serious mental disorders.
The Veterans CARE Act is another bill that would require VA to do research into the safety and efficacy of medical cannabis in veterans with chronic pain.
It said that WWP was “invested and engaged” in the area, and encouraged support of these and other efforts.
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