Psychedelic drugs and marijuana could be evaluated as treatments for post-traumatic disorder and other conditions afflicting veterans under bills advancing through Congress.
The version of the annual defense policy bill approved by the House Armed Services Committee last week would require the Pentagon to conduct a clinical trial on treating service members' PTSD, traumatic brain injury and chronic traumatic encephalopathy with drugs including MDMA, commonly called ecstasy, and psilocybin, the psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms.
The defense bill, called the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, would also require the Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs to study the effects of marijuana use in service members and veterans with PTSD, depression, anxiety or chronic pain.
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Meanwhile, the Senate Appropriations Committee is using its annual VA spending bill to encourage, but not require, the VA to help with privately funded research on the use of psychedelics to treat PTSD and depression.
Including the measures in the must-pass bills signals a growing interest from both parties in finding alternative treatments for conditions that have been seen as signature injuries in the 9/11-era wars. But the bills still have several hurdles to overcome before passing into law, including continued skepticism in the…
