VA-funded psychedelic therapy trials for PTSD could save lives, veteran organization says

TAMPA, Fla. - Earlier this month, the Department of Veteran Affairs passed a new budget, which allocates money for psychedelic therapy to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

The VA plans to spend $20 million on clinical trials on the therapeutic use of psychedelics like MDMA, also known as ecstasy or molly, and psilocybin, also known as magic mushrooms.

Some veteran advocacy groups have pushed for this for years, saying the treatment has already saved thousands of lives when veterans travel outside the country for it. 

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"It was just very apparent that [the VA] didn’t have the tools that could help me," said Jesse Gould, who was just 26 when he was diagnosed with PTSD. "For a lot of veterans, once you get diagnosed with PTSD, it's almost a life sentence."

Gould, grew up in Florida and after college, he bravely served three tours in Afghanistan as an Army Ranger. When he returned home and was working in Tampa, he found a new fight.

Gould said he suffered from severe PTSD and a traumatic brain injury. He struggled to get the care he needed at the VA, where he said the plan is just to learn how to live with PTSD. 

"There has to be something else," he said. "I can't just acquiesce to being a lifetime PTSD person. And so that's when I heard about the psychedelic retreats."

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He traveled to Peru for the psychedelic therapy, and it changed his life and created a new mission. His non-profit, Heroic Hearts Project, helps other veterans find healing through psychedelic treatments. 

"I shouldn't be starting a non-profit from nothing and having to serve thousands of veterans, with many more knocking at our door, who have free access to care from the VA," Gould said. "But, we have to pay out of pocket to send them to other countries, and for thousands of veterans to get lifesaving care by going to other countries. All of this is just the sign of, you know, one, just a huge embarrassment, but a sign of a of a broken system."

But, there's some progress forward on making it more mainstream and potentially free for veterans. The government will spend $20 million on psychedelic therapy trials.

Previous trials submitted to the FDA show the effectiveness of MDMA on PTSD. The research group MAPS found 88% of participants with severe PTSD experienced significant reduction, and 67% found it so successful, they no longer met the criteria for PTSD.

"This is a physiological thing where they're able to process the trauma," said Gould. "But there's also indication that it's actually revamping the brain, increasing plasticity and neurogenesis to where healing that brain, but also allowing new neural pathways so that they can break old habits."

READ: Tampa biotech company developing non-hallucinogenic psychedelics to treat mental health disorders

Gould who started on this journey seven years ago, said the VA trials are a good start to a battle, not yet won.

"How do we actually incorporate this and implement this and change the systems that have allowed 20 years of people who've been going to war to suffer for so long without any sort of acknowledgment of that or any sort of effective program?"

If you are a veteran or know of a veteran who is struggling, they can call 988, which is the National Suicide Hotline, then press one for the veterans support hotline. 

For information on how to attend a retreat through Heroic Hearts project or support their mission, visit heroicheartsproject.org.

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