{"id":81754,"date":"2025-06-18T04:01:26","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T12:01:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2025\/06\/18\/trumps-va-head-visits-psychedelics-research-center-reiterating-promise-to-explore-benefits-for-military-veterans\/"},"modified":"2025-06-18T19:47:57","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T03:47:57","slug":"trumps-va-head-visits-psychedelics-research-center-reiterating-promise-to-explore-benefits-for-military-veterans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2025\/06\/18\/trumps-va-head-visits-psychedelics-research-center-reiterating-promise-to-explore-benefits-for-military-veterans\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s VA Head Visits Psychedelics Research Center, Reiterating \u2018Promise\u2019 To Explore Benefits For Military Veterans"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The head of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) visited a facility conducting research on psychedelics this week, reiterating that it\u2019s his \u201cpromise\u201d to advance research into the therapeutic potential of the substances\u2014even if that might take certain policy changes within the department and with congressional support.<\/p>\n

In a video shared on X on Tuesday, VA Secretary Doug Collins talked about his commitment to pursuing clinical trials into substances such as MDMA\u2014standing alongside Rachel Yehuda, the director of mental health at VA\u2019s James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center who has overseen and advocated for psychedelics research.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told you all along that we are looking at psychedelics. We\u2019re looking at anything to help our veterans,\u201d Collins said, while stressing that he acknowledges \u201cthere\u2019s no silver bullet for the things we have for trauma and our stress and the incidences of childhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are all things that come out in our veterans as they come back from war zones, but also just in everyday life. But you know, sitting here with Rachel and the doctors here, I have found that there\u2019s some things that are working,\u201d the secretary said. \u201cI promised you that we\u2019re going to look into this, and we\u2019re making changes to make it even better so we can make it more available.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Visited the VA Bronx Health Care System today to have a look at some of the groundbreaking research they are doing regarding potential psychedelic treatments for Veterans. Excellent work! pic.twitter.com\/VlbJHH44rA<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 VA Secretary Doug Collins (@SecVetAffairs) June 17, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s going to take some change in the VA. It\u2019s going to take some changes in Congress. But it\u2019s a thing that I have said we want to do because we want to take care of veterans,\u201d Collins said, noting that the room they filmed the video in is one of the facilities where MDMA clinical trials are currently underway.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are things we\u2019re going to continue. I promise you, we\u2019re going to do it,\u201d he said, telling Yehuda to \u201ckeep doing what you\u2019re doing because it is meaningful to our veterans, and I want to thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yehuda shared the secretary\u2019s post and said she was pleased to meet Collins and \u201cshow what we\u2019ve built at [VA] for our veterans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re excited about the expansion of our [Parsons Research Center for Psychedelic Healing] at the VA and the two new studies that have just begun here with MDMA and psilocybin,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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Thank you @SecVetAffairs<\/a> for stopping by. Pleasure to meet you and show what we\u2019ve built at @DeptVetAffairs<\/a> for our veterans. We\u2019re excited about the expansion of our Center @MSPsychedelics<\/a> at the VA and the two new studies that have just begun here with MDMA and psilocybin. https:\/\/t.co\/5qgrawYajL<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Rachel Yehuda (@RachelYehuda) June 17, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Collins\u2019s visit to the psychedelics research center comes about a month after the VA secretary met with a military veteran who\u2019s become an advocate for psilocybin access to discuss the therapeutic potential of psychedelic medicine for the veteran community<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Collins also briefly raised the issue in a Cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump<\/a> in April.<\/p>\n

The secretary also disclosed in April that he had an \u201ceye-opening\u201d talk with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about the therapeutic potential of psychedelic medicine<\/a>. And Collins said he\u2019s open to the idea of having the government provide vouchers to cover the costs of psychedelic therapy for veterans who receive services outside of VA as Congress considers pathways for access.<\/p>\n

During a recent Senate committee hearing, he separately reiterated his commitment to exploring the efficacy of psychedelic therapy<\/a>\u00a0to address serious mental health conditions that commonly afflict military veterans.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile last month, bipartisan congressional lawmakers asked the VA head to meet with them to discuss ways to provide access to psychedelic medicine for military veterans<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a letter sent to Collins, Reps. Lou Correa (D-CA) and Jack Bergman (R-MI)\u2014co-chairs of the Congressional Psychedelic Advancing Therapies (PATH) Caucus\u2014said they were \u201cencouraged by your recent remarks about the importance of pursuing research into psychedelic treatments and other alternative treatments to improve Veterans\u2019 care.\u201d<\/p>\n

Correa and Bergman separately introduced a bill in April to provide $30 million in funding annually to establish psychedelics-focused \u201ccenters for excellence\u201d at VA facilities<\/a>, where veterans could receive novel treatment involving substances like psilocybin, MDMA and ibogaine.<\/p>\n

Bergman has also\u00a0expressed optimism about the prospects of advancing psychedelics reform under Trump<\/a>, arguing that the administration\u2019s efforts to cut spending and the federal workforce will give agencies \u201cspines\u201d to tackle such complex issues.<\/p>\n

\u2014
\nMarijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills<\/a> in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters<\/a> pledging at least $25\/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don\u2019t miss any developments.<\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a>
\nLearn more about our marijuana bill tracker<\/a> and become a supporter on Patreon<\/a> to get access.
\n\u2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

In December, VA separately announced that it\u2019s providing $1.5 million in funding to\u00a0study the efficacy of MDMA-assisted therapy for veterans<\/a>\u00a0with PTSD and alcohol use disorder (AUD).<\/p>\n

Last year, VA\u2019s Yehuda also touted an initial study the agency funded that produced \u201cstunning and robust results\u201d from its first-ever clinical trial into MDMA therapy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In January, former VA Under Secretary for Health Shereef Elnahal said that it was \u201cvery encouraging\u201d that Trump\u2019s pick to have Kennedy lead HHS has supported psychedelics reform. And he\u00a0hoped to work with him on the issue if he stayed on<\/a>\u00a0for the next administration, but that didn\u2019t pan out.<\/p>\n

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Most Marijuana Consumers Oppose Trump\u2019s Cannabis Actions So Far, But Rescheduling Or Legalization Could Bolster Support, Poll Shows<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Photo elements courtesy of carlosemmaskype<\/a> and Apollo<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The post Trump\u2019s VA Head Visits Psychedelics Research Center, Reiterating \u2018Promise\u2019 To Explore Benefits For Military Veterans<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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\nRead More: Trump\u2019s VA Head Visits Psychedelics Research Center, Reiterating \u2018Promise\u2019 To Explore Benefits For Military Veterans<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The head of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) visited a facility conducting research on psychedelics this week, reiterating that it\u2019s his \u201cpromise\u201d to advance research into the therapeutic potential of the substances\u2014even if that might take certain policy changes within the department and with congressional support. In aContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":81755,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81754"}],"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\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81754"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81754\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81756,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81754\/revisions\/81756"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}