Vets push for psychedelic mental health therapies
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Veterans are campaigning to take psychedelic therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder mainstream, despite the Food and Drug Administration's rejection of an ecstasy-based therapy in August.
Why it matters: About 29% of veterans who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq will have PTSD at some point in their lives, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Veteran suicide rates are also higher than in the general population.
- "The thirst is very palpable among our generation" of veterans for alternative mental health therapies, Allison Jaslow, CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, told Axios.
Catch up quick: Psychedelics like magic mushrooms, LSD and ecstasy can alter a person's state of mind and cause hallucinations.
- It's been nearly impossible to research their effects, because they've been criminalized and classified as controlled substances since 1970.
- But interest in psychedelics' potential to treat mental health conditions — particularly in veterans — has grown in recent years.
- The FDA in 2017 granted fast-track review of a PTSD treatment that mixes ecstasy with talk therapy.
The VA started funding research into psychedelic therapies this year. Congress also passed bipartisan legislation directing the Pentagon to study the treatments.
- In the meantime, more than 1,200 veterans traveled to other countries for psychedelic therapies through one nonprofit alone, said Jesse Gould, founder of that organization, Heroic Hearts Project.
But the FDA in August rejected the therapy it had originally fast-tracked, following an independent review that highlighted concerns like missing safety data and allegations of misconduct in clinical trials.
Zoom in: The decision felt like a major setback to veterans.
- "It was emotionally just gut-wrenching, thinking about all of those veterans, and all the other people, for that matter, that were just really counting on being able to access this as a solution for their debilitating PTSD," said Juliana Mercer, a Marine Corps veteran and director at veterans advocacy group Healing Breakthrough.
- The FDA rejection pushes mental health progress back years, added Gould, a former Army Ranger. It "indicates to veterans that they are not being listened to and they're not a priority."
Where it stands: Veterans are continuing to work toward broadening access to psychedelic therapies.
- State-level action is also picking up. Oregon and Colorado have legalized psychedelic mushrooms for therapeutic use. But Massachusetts voters last week rejected a ballot proposal to legalize psychedelics.
What's next: The company behind the rejected ecstasy-based therapy now has a new acting CEO and chief medical officer, and it announced last month that it will run a new clinical trial on the PTSD treatment.
- The VA has reportedly said it would consider funding the trial.
- The FDA also fast-tracked review for a psychedelic mushroom therapy, though the company running that trial announced recently that it's delaying a key data release.
The new clinical trials will likely take at least two more years, Mercer predicted.
- But the extended timeline means the VA "is going to be more prepared to effectively roll out a psychedelic program," she said. "I'm choosing to look at that as a silver lining."
