The head of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) visited a facility conducting research on psychedelics this week, reiterating that it’s his “promise” to advance research into the therapeutic potential of the substances—even if that might take certain policy changes within the department and with congressional support.
In a video shared on X on Tuesday, VA Secretary Doug Collins talked about his commitment to pursuing clinical trials into substances such as MDMA—standing alongside Rachel Yehuda, the director of mental health at VA’s James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center who has overseen and advocated for psychedelics research.
I told you that all along we were looking into psychedelics. Collins stated that “we’re open to anything” in order to assist our veterans, but he also acknowledged there is no magic bullet when it comes traumas and stress or childhood incidents.
The secretary said, “I have found that some things work for our veterans when they return from war zones but also in their everyday lives.” The secretary stated, “I have discovered that some of the things we’re doing here are actually working.” I promised that we would look into it and make changes so it could be more widely available.
It’s going be a change at the VA. Congress will have to make some changes. Collins added that “it’s something I said that we would do to help veterans.” Collins noted that they had filmed their video in a room that was one of several facilities that are conducting MDMA trials.
The things that we will continue are: He said: “I promise you we will do it.” Yehuda was told to keep doing the work because it’s important to veterans and I thank him for it.
Yehuda, who shared Collins’ secretary post with her, said that she would be happy to “show off what we have built” at [VA] For our Veterans”
The expansion of our business is exciting to us. [Parsons Research Center for Psychedelic Healing] She said, “I am very excited about the new MDMA and Psilocybin studies at the VA.
Collins’ visit to the center of research on psychedelics came about a week after the VA Secretary met with a veteran who is now a strong advocate for access to psilocybin. They discussed the potential for therapeutic use by psychedelic medicine in the veteran’s community.
Collins briefly brought up the matter in a Cabinet Meeting with Donald Trump, in April.
In April, the secretary revealed that he and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of HHS had a “eye-opening talk” about psychedelic medicines’ therapeutic potential. Collins also said that he is open to having vouchers provided by the government to pay for psychedelic therapies for veterans receiving services from outside the VA, as Congress looks at pathways to access.
During a recent Senate committee hearing, he separately reiterated his commitment to exploring the efficacy of psychedelic therapy to address serious mental health conditions that commonly afflict military veterans.
Last month, a bipartisan group of congressional members asked that the VA director meet them in order to explore ways to make psychedelic drugs available to veterans.
In a letter sent to Collins, Reps. Lou Correa (D-CA) and Jack Bergman (R-MI)—co-chairs of the Congressional Psychedelic Advancing Therapies (PATH) Caucus—said they were “encouraged by your recent remarks about the importance of pursuing research into psychedelic treatments and other alternative treatments to improve Veterans’ care.”
Correa, Bergman, each separately, introduced in April a bill to fund $30 million per year to create “centers for Excellence” focusing on psychedelics in VA facilities. Veterans could then receive novel treatments involving drugs like MDMA, psilocybin and ibogaine.
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.
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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).
VA’s Yehuda praised a study that the agency had funded last year. The initial trial produced “stunning results and robust findings” in its first ever clinical trial on MDMA treatment.
Shereef Enahal, the former VA under secretary for health who was appointed by Trump to lead HHS in January said it was “very encouraging”, that Trump had chosen Kennedy as his HHS leader and that Kennedy supported reform of 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.
The poll found that although most Marijuana consumers are opposed to Trump’s actions on cannabis, rescheduling and legalization may increase support.
Carlosemmaskype, Apollo and other photographers provided the images.
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