The U.S has lost 21x more veterans to suicide than combat this century. For many, the war is over, but the battle remains, a life sentence to intractable PTSD. The most efficacious cures are available, but not in the VA. For years now, thousands of veterans have had to go to Mexico or Peru for psychedelic therapy, often curing their PTSD with a single session. For those who have given so much for our country, it has been tragic that they have to go overseas to find healing.
More recently, Oregon has opened a regulated access program to psilocybin therapy, and over 10,000 people have received treatment there, including veterans. Colorado opened their program this summer. But Federally, psychedelics are still Schedule 1 drugs and restricted more than meth or fentanyl (Schedule 2 drugs). Ironically, psychedelics have been effective in curing addiction to opiates, yet they are regulated as if they were more dangerous.
So, sadly, the one place that veterans can’t receive the most efficacious treatment is the VA, the world’s largest treatment organization for PTSD. This will eventually change, with small trials underway in the VA. And there are 182 clinical trials of psychedelic therapy seeking FDA approval. With these approvals, one by one, each of the medicines will be downgraded from Schedule 1 to Schedule 2. But this takes years.
For now, non-profits like Heroic Hearts and VETS arrange and pay for treatment overseas, and they have healed thousands of families. Heroic Hearts just held their annual fundraising gala on the USS Hornet, the ship that brought the Apollo astronauts home after their heroic journey.
• Heroic Hearts: heroicheartsproject.org
• VETS: vetsolutions.org
• DEA Schedules: www.dea.gov/drug-information/drug-scheduling
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