Missouri’s Republican Attorney General says that it is “absolutely right” for psychedelic therapies to be available, especially as an option of treatment for veterans. The Republican attorney general plans to get involved in all programs approved by the state legislature when it considers various reform proposals.
In an interview with Navy SEAL Shawn Ryan, released Wednesday on his podcast, Missouri Attorney-General Andrew Bailey (R), was asked about his opinion on psychedelic therapies and their potential to assist other veterans suffering from serious mental illnesses.
“It’s important that there are different treatment options available, and everyone can make their own choices about what option best meets their needs,” said he. He added that he expected the psychedelics bill to be “moved again in this session” to achieve that.
Bailey, a veteran of the Army who served as a soldier in Iraq, stated that “the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs” (VA) has let down the warriors. He added that there are too many veterans that did not receive the care they deserved because of bad decisions and bureaucracy. And we owe those who have served in the global war on terror and any other conflict—those who have served—we owe them more.”
The president also expressed his “encouragement” at the renewed focus on VA care by President Donald Trump. He added that he hopes that the VA will offer a range of treatment options so people can again make informed decisions.
Trump’s stance on access to psychedelics has been largely ambiguous.
Bailey was asked if he might be interested in playing a role as a leader in the implementation a new psychedelic therapy model. Bailey responded that he “absolutely,” would. Bailey also advocated an increase in veterans holding public offices because they have a unique perspective.
“The more veterans we get in public office, the better off we’re going to be—and the more we’re going to have these voices heard and more we can lead on issues like this,” he said.
This conversation is taking place at a time when the House Veterans Committee, which was formed on Wednesday, has been considering a number of proposals regarding psychedelics. One of these includes a proposal to have the state carry out an investigation into the therapeutic benefits of psilocybin.
The advocates hope that the legislation will be expanded so that it includes language that is part of a separate bill sponsored by Rep. Matt Overcast, (R), that legalizes and regulates psilocybin for certain mental conditions.
Bailey stated that the role of the Attorney General’s Office will be to “provide technical or leadership advice in the process of advancing bills through the legislative system.”
Will he be “loud’ in his support for the reforms as they progress? Attorney General said: “I get very vocal about most issues.”
Eapen Thampy, a lawyer and founder of Psychedelic Missouri told MEDCAN24 that the passage of bills in both the state legislature as well as Congress will allow veterans to be elected into office, like AG Bailey, who can bring the potential life-saving benefits of psychedelic therapies to the warfighters and law enforcement, first responders and millions of Americans searching for answers about their mental health, addiction and suicide crises.
The President of the United States, Donald Trump [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “have called for bold action to Make America Healthy Again, and we are grateful that AG Bailey is a leader that is not willing to take that charge lightly,” he said.
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Meanwhile, two other Missouri psychedelics bills that have been introduced this session—HB 829 from Rep. Richard West (R) and SB 90 from Sen. Stephen Webber (D)—would require all veterans who participate in state-level psychedelics programs to also be enrolled in federal Food and Drug Administration- (FDA) registered clinical trials.
Last year, Missouri lawmakers approved a separate $5 million allocation of state opioid settlement money to study whether psilocybin can help treat opioid use disorders and curb overdose deaths.
Initially the provision was for twice that amount—$10 million—and was was briefly earmarked to study ibogaine as a potential treatment rather than psilocybin. The line was later amended to focus on psilocybin, but before its final passage, all references to the specific substances were removed.
Also last year, two committees in the state House of Representatives advanced separate legislation that would have legalized psilocybin by military veterans, but lawmakers ultimately ran out of time in the session to consider the measure further.
That bill, HB 1830, would have allowed military veterans who were at least 21 and diagnosed with a qualifying condition such as PTSD or substance use disorders to legally access laboratory-tested psilocybin. The legislation was modeled off a separate House bill that advanced to the floor of that chamber a year earlier but was not ultimately enacted.
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