{"id":69796,"date":"2023-11-01T04:28:03","date_gmt":"2023-11-01T12:28:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2023\/11\/01\/veteran-access-to-psychedelics-requires-balance-of-speed-and-caution-says-panel-with-va-and-former-cdc-officials\/"},"modified":"2023-11-01T19:46:27","modified_gmt":"2023-11-02T03:46:27","slug":"veteran-access-to-psychedelics-requires-balance-of-speed-and-caution-says-panel-with-va-and-former-cdc-officials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2023\/11\/01\/veteran-access-to-psychedelics-requires-balance-of-speed-and-caution-says-panel-with-va-and-former-cdc-officials\/","title":{"rendered":"Veteran Access To Psychedelics Requires Balance Of Speed And Caution, Says Panel With VA And Former CDC Officials"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Experts and advocates\u2014including a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) official and a former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)\u2014recently convened for a Harvard University panel to discuss efforts to expand veteran access to psychedelic-assisted therapy. Speakers broadly agreed that psychedelic substances like MDMA and psilocybin hold powerful potential to help treat PTSD and curb suicide rates in service members, but they cautioned against hasty, unsupervised use of psychedelics given the possibility for further harms.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am really excited about this,\u201d said Rachel Yehuda, the director of mental health for the VA medical center in the Bronx who is also a psychiatry and neuroscience professor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. \u201cAnd yet I also know that what\u2019s important is to proceed slowly, methodically, soberly and just get the data, especially about people who are having not as great outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yehuda, who also started a center for psychedelic therapy research, said there\u2019s still a need to better understand psychedelic therapies before recommending them for everyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very important to understand that about a third of the people that are treated with psychedelics in clinical trials really don\u2019t have this promise of breakthrough therapy or breakthrough healing,\u201d she said. \u201cSo that\u2019s kind of why we want to do the research. About a third of the people speak so glowingly about it, but another third have a marked improvement that still requires some treatment but clearly made a dent through the use of psychedelics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Panelists at last week\u2019s event, hosted by Harvard Law School\u2019s Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law, Biotechnology, and Bioethics, emphasized that they were speaking for themselves and did not represent the views of their respective institutions.<\/p>\n

Rochelle Walensky, who directed the CDC under President Biden from 2021 to 2023 and now lectures at Harvard Law School, noted that both rates of PTSD and suicide are \u201cparticularly high in veterans compared to the U.S. population\u201d\u2014a problem that\u2019s worsened in recent years.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the most disturbing statistics, I think, is the differential rate in increased suicide that we\u2019re seeing in our U.S. veterans,\u201d she said. In 2001, the suicide rate among civilians was 15 per 100,000 people, while the rate for veterans was 17 per 100,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose rates are now 18 and 27 per 100,000,\u201d Walensky said, \u201cso you\u2019re seeing a much larger increase in rates of suicide among our U.S. veterans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile veterans are hearing anecdotes from fellow service members of life-changing experiences aided by psychedelics, which seem to allow therapists to target underlying trauma rather than simply treat conditions\u2019 symptoms.<\/p>\n

\n

Today: Psychedelic Law and U.S. Military Veterans
\"📆\" Oct 25, 12:30pm
\"🏢\" Online
\"👥\" @CohenProf<\/a>, @RWalensky<\/a>, @netteaverill<\/a>, @MarcusC236<\/a>, @RachelYehuda<\/a>, Juliana Mercer, @MasonMarksMD<\/a><\/p>\n

Register here \"⬇\"https:\/\/t.co\/fz0oRTX04H<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Petrie-Flom Center (@PetrieFlom) October 25, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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\u201cThe word is out that these things work, especially in the veteran community,\u201d said Juliana Mercer, a Marine Corps veteran who now directs veteran advocacy and public policy for the nonprofit Healing Breakthrough, which advocates for system-wide adoption of MDMA-assisted therapy in the VA. \u201cWe do a really good job of networking and talking to each other about the good things, the solutions that we\u2019ve been finding, and this is the one that veterans are coming back home and telling their brothers and sisters, \u2018This is it. This has healed me.’\u201d<\/p>\n

While some veterans seek out psychedelics through illicit markets in the U.S., others have been traveling to countries where the therapies are legal or tolerated, then returning home to share their experiences.<\/p>\n

Marcus Capone, a Navy SEAL veteran who with his wife co-founded VETS, a nonprofit that sponsors veterans to go abroad to receive psychedelic therapies, said that he was prescribed as many as 10 different medicines at a time over the course of seven years of mental health treatment before trying psychedelic-assisted therapy himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I was trying to achieve in seven years, I was able to achieve in almost a week,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Capone and others on the panel called for more federal investment into psychedelics research related to veterans. \u201cThere\u2019s only so many people that me and Rachel know who have a lot of money that could continue donating to these efforts,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need federal dollars released.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked by moderator Mason Marks, a senior fellow at Harvard\u2019s Petrie-Flom Center who leads its Project on Psychedelics Law and Regulation (POPLAR), why more wasn\u2019t being done in Congress to promote research or broader access, Capone pointed to conservatives \u201cusing religion and conservatism and some other things, saying that, you know, these drugs are bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time, he noted that support for reform is bipartisan, especially among veterans and their families. \u201cMy wife is a strong conservative Christian from the Midwest, and she runs a psychedelic nonprofit,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cAnd by the way, she\u2019s never had the need to do psychedelic therapy. Her mental health is fine, but she sees the healing power in this.\u201d<\/p>\n

After five years, the nonprofit has funded close to 1,000 veterans, Capone said, and currently receives up to 10 applications per day. The more that people learn about psychedelics\u2019 healing potential, the more they go seek them out, he said, \u201cand so I think, as a country, it\u2019s our responsibility to do this correctly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walensky, the former CDC director, said she was encouraged by the conversation. \u201cWhile the mental health burden is increasing\u201d among veterans, she said, \u201cthe treatment options and treatment access haven\u2019t been keeping up the pace.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know in the medical community that once a new, novel methodology or method is reported in the literature, it can take 17 years to reach the community,\u201d she continued, \u201cand we don\u2019t have that kind of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lynnette Averill, a psychiatry and behavior sciences professor at Baylor College of Medicine and co-founder and chief science officer at Reason for Hope, which advocates for psychedelics reform, said broader study into psychedelics is difficult in the current legal environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoing any sort of clinical trial is always burdensome from a regulatory perspective, a paperwork perspective,\u201d Averill said. \u201cDoing research on psychedelic medicines right now is especially so, because they are Schedule I drugs, meaning there are various restrictions and additional bits of paperwork, approvals, bureaucracy that the scientist or investigators have to get through.\u201d<\/p>\n

But speakers said VA support for research and implementation could be a game-changer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re the largest healthcare system in our nation, they\u2019re the foremost experts on PTSD and we think that they\u2019re in the best position to be able to roll this out,\u201d Mercer said. \u201cWe believe that the federal government needs to be involved and financially support these efforts to heal our veterans here at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marks, the event\u2019s<\/a> moderator, noted that states like Oregon and Colorado have already passed laws to remove barriers to psychedelics, for example by allowing therapeutic psilocybin. He asked whether veterans should travel abroad, visit a state with fewer restrictions or proceed some other way.<\/p>\n

Mercer said she always recommends veterans work with a therapist in addition to a coach who can help navigate the process. \u201cWithout those conversations, we\u2019re putting people in danger,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Not only do powerful psychedelics carry the risk of uncomfortable side effects, but research indicates that the\u00a0therapy part of psychedelic-assisted therapy is an essential component.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea that this is a full-course meal\u2014if you just do a psychedelic journey\u2014it\u2019s probably a misleading message,\u201d Yehuda said. \u201cWe just want to make sure that all avenues are open and that everybody\u2019s really understanding of how to work with someone who might have gone to Peru [for treatment with psychedelics] last year but is still bringing up a lot of memories and wants to process them. And that\u2019s something that will require, you know, a reeducation of clinicians across the country and the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Capone summed up the dilemma facing VA officials, lawmakers and even advocates who support broader access to psychedelic-assisted therapy: \u201cIf we\u2019re too cautious, we\u2019re never going to get there, and people are going to die,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd if we\u2019re too aggressive, people may get hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speakers said they felt like lawmakers and federal agencies were finally paying attention to the potential of psychedelics to treat PTSD, traumatic brain injuries and suicidal ideation, especially in veterans. Mercer, for example, said her organization had met with over 300 legislative offices \u201cand garnered overwhelming support from both sides.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we walk into a legislator\u2019s office and we tell them the efficacy rate of MDMA-assisted therapy based on the Phase 3 clinical trials,\u201d she said, \u201cand they hear that something has the potential to be 70 percent effective in eliminating a PTSD diagnosis, they start paying attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mercer was referring to recent results of trials that put MDMA on track for approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as soon as next year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Yehuda described the current moment as one \u201cof great optimism.\u201d As for lawmakers, she said, \u201cI think they\u2019re listening. I think we have everybody\u2019s attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

Congress was scheduled to hold its first-ever commitee hearing dedicated to veterans and mental health care earlier this month<\/a>, but the event was postponed as Republicans in the House scrambled to select a speaker. Yehuda was among the VA officials scheduled to appear.<\/p>\n

In written testimony filed before the House Veterans\u2019 Affairs Subcommittee on Health hearing was postponed, Carolyn Clancy, VA\u2019s assistant undersecretary for health for discovery, education and affiliate networks, said the agency\u2019s top goal is veteran safety.<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on our assessment of the literature to date, there is still much to learn, and much yet to be understood, about the potential benefits of psychedelic compounds,\u201d she wrote. \u201cOur Department is not only focused on finding the best innovative treatments and cures, but doing so safely.\u201d<\/p>\n

A number of the subcommittee\u2019s members\u2014Republicans especially\u2014have expressed interest in psychedelics reform before. Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI), for example, is the\u00a0co-founding member of the Congressional Psychedelics Advancing Therapies (PATH) Caucus<\/a>, a bipartisan group relaunched this past March.<\/p>\n

Another member, Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX), has\u00a0publicly shared how treatment with ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT \u201cchanged my life\u201d<\/a>\u00a0and was \u201cone of the greatest things that ever happened to me.\u201d Earlier this year, he and several other GOP lawmakers spoke in favor of a bill to create a\u00a0$75 million federal grant program to support research into the therapeutic potential of psychedelics<\/a>\u00a0for certain health conditions among active duty military service members.<\/p>\n

And the House subcommittee\u2019s chair, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), led a roundtable this summer to discuss emerging therapies for PTSD and substance abuse.<\/p>\n

As Capone noted during the Harvard panel, Republicans in Congress have been some of psychedelics\u2019 most stubborn critics as well as some of the most vocal champions of expanding access for veterans.<\/p>\n

A similar point was made by former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) in a recent documentary from the publication Reason. Though he said the issue shouldn\u2019t be about politics, Perry went on to assert that GOP lawmakers are more open to psychedelics reform<\/a>\u00a0than Democrats are\u2014at least among those in Congress.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the federal level, this is more supported by the Republicans,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

At the state level, however, blue states have taken the lead on psychedelics reform. Oregon in 2020\u00a0legalized psilocybin therapy<\/a>\u00a0in addition to\u00a0decriminalizing possession of all drugs<\/a>. The state\u00a0approved the first legal psilocybin service center<\/a>\u00a0this past May.<\/p>\n

And in Colorado, Gov. Jared Polis (D)\u00a0signed a psychedelics regulation bill into law in May<\/a>, setting rules for a\u00a0psychedelics legalization law that voters passed last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In California, meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) recently vetoed a psychedelics legalization bill. In a veto message, however, he said he wants the legislature to send him\u00a0a new bill next year establishing guidelines for regulated therapeutic access to psychedelics<\/a>\u00a0and also consider a \u201cpotential\u201d framework for broader decriminalization in the future.<\/p>\n

California officials cleared a campaign this summer to begin signature gathering for a\u00a02024 ballot initiative to legalize the possession, sale and regulated therapeutic use of psilocybin<\/a>. It\u2019s one of three campaigns in the state that are seeking to enact psychedelics reform through the ballot process next year.<\/p>\n

Another California campaign filed a proposed initiative for the state\u2019s 2024 ballot this summer that would create a $5 billion state agency tasked with\u00a0funding and promoting psychedelics research that it hopes will accelerate federal legalization<\/a>\u00a0of substances like psilocybin and ibogaine.<\/p>\n

A third campaign filed a prospective initiative to legalize psychedelics broadly for therapeutic and spiritual use<\/a> with a doctor\u2019s recommendation.<\/p>\n

Last month VA launched a new podcast about the future of veteran health care, with its\u00a0first episode focused on the healing potential of psychedelics<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Some feel VA still isn\u2019t doing enough to prioritize therapies that involve controlled substances, even as states have legalized medical marijuana and some move to legalize possession of some psychedelics.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, House lawmakers passed a spending bill with a number of\u00a0veteran-focused marijuana and psychedelics amendments<\/a>. One would allow VA doctors to issue medical cannabis recommendations to former servicemembers, and the other would encourage research into the therapeutic potential of psychedelics.<\/p>\n

In August, three bipartisan co-chairs of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus wrote to VA Secretary Denis McDonough expressing \u201cdeep concern\u201d over a recent VA marijuana directive that continues to\u00a0prohibit its doctors from making medical cannabis recommendations to veterans<\/a>\u00a0living in states where it\u2019s legal.<\/p>\n

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), one of the authors of that letter, recently sent a separate letter to McDonough and Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin\u00a0slamming their departments for perpetuating a \u201cmisguided denial of services\u201d<\/a>\u00a0by recommending against the use of medical marijuana by veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).<\/p>\n

VA and DOD \u201chave a long history of claiming the best interest of our veterans and service-members only to deny the reality of medical marijuana as a key treatment option for those impacted by PTSD,\u201d he wrote, referencing recently\u00a0updated joint clinical practice guidelines<\/a>\u00a0that the departments released in July.<\/p>\n

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Trump Team Says DeSantis Should Use Marijuana Edibles To Deal With Presidential Campaign Stress<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Photo courtesy of Pretty Drugthings on Unsplash<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The post Veteran Access To Psychedelics Requires Balance Of Speed And Caution, Says Panel With VA And Former CDC Officials<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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Experts and advocates\u2014including a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) official and a former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)\u2014recently convened for a Harvard University panel to discuss efforts to expand veteran access to psychedelic-assisted therapy. Speakers broadly agreed that psychedelic substances like MDMA and psilocybin holdContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":69797,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69796"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69796"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69796\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69798,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69796\/revisions\/69798"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}