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The head of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is reiterating that he\u2019s \u201cvery open\u201d to expanding access to psychedelics therapy for veterans\u2014emphasizing that he\u2019s intent on finding ways to \u201ccure\u201d people with serious mental health conditions and not just treat their surface-level\u00a0 symptoms.<\/p>\n
In an interview with Newsmax TV that VA Secretary Doug Collins posted a video of to X on Sunday, he discussed anecdotal stories about the curative potential of psychedelics such as ibogaine and DMT, stressing that the department is \u201cvery serious\u201d about tapping into that potential.<\/p>\n
Collins noted that VA either internally or through private partnerships is actively conducting about a dozen clinical trials into \u201cvarious different substances that we\u2019re seeing actually really good results on,\u201d including one based at VA Bronx Health Care that\u2019s investigating MDMA-assisted therapy<\/a> with \u201cactually really, really good results.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think that\u2019s the part that is very good for me,\u201d he said, adding that VA is also working with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to identify ways to expand the clinical trials and \u201cget it into the testing phase for more veterans to be able to use this.\u201d<\/p>\n VA is challenging the status quo to find new ways of helping Veterans. To that end, we are conducting numerous clinical studies into potential psychedelic-assisted therapies. @RobFinnertyUSA<\/a> @NEWSMAX<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/KDQwjencBm<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 VA Secretary Doug Collins (@SecVetAffairs) July 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n During the interview, Collins was also shown a recent clip of Navy SEAL veteran Rob O\u2019Neill, who killed Osama Bin Laden,<\/a> talking about his theory that the federal government has intentionally avoided providing access to psychedelic medicine because cures are less profitable than long-term treatments. Collins responded by saying, \u201cI\u2019m going to tell you right now: This secretary of veterans affairs, myself, I want to heal people.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI want to see people healed. I want to see them back to normal. I want to see them in productive lives with their families,\u201d he said. \u201cAs a veteran who\u2019s seen this many, many times before, I\u2019m not one to stick us in treatments. I want to see cures, and that\u2019s what we\u2019re about now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI want to make it very clear: I\u2019m very open to this. I want to see it moved out, because I see it actually helping our veterans,\u201d the secretary said. \u201cBut also, you know, one of the things we have to be very careful of\u2014and I think, you know, as much respect as I have for those talking about it, they may not be the solution for everybody. But if it\u2019s a solution for some, I want to make sure that it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo as we deal with it in the VA\u2014and we are starting more and more trials and working through it\u2014we have our doctors, our psychiatrists and others who are there who can do the administration of the drug then actually watch, listen and talk to the individuals,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat we\u2019re finding a lot of times is a mix of not only an application of treatment, but also an intensive counseling with that is showing numbers to be really, really good\u2014lowering the levels, lowering those anxieties, lowering those fears. And so look, I\u2019m not ever going to put something on the side that can work for our veterans.\u201d<\/p>\n Collins did acknowledge, however, that \u201ca lot of it is still tied up with regulation in the federal government.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut we\u2019re working with HHS to say, \u2018How can we move forward on these things so people aren\u2019t having to go elsewhere, out of country to other places, to get these treatments?\u2019 We want to make sure that we\u2019re trying to do the best we can for our veterans here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, last week a GOP-controlled House committee approved an amendment attached to a must-pass defense bill that would require a \u201cprogress report\u201d on an ongoing psychedelic therapy pilot program<\/a> for active duty military service members and veterans.<\/p>\n The amendment, led by Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX), passed as part of an en bloc package of proposed changes to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in the House Armed Services Committee.<\/p>\n The 2024 NDAA specifically required DOD to establish a process by which service members with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or traumatic brain injury could participate in clinical trials involving psilocybin, MDMA, ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT.<\/p>\n While Congress has been notably amenable to psychedelics research proposals in recent sessions, the House Rules Committee last week separately blocked a bipartisan amendment to a spending bill led by Luttrell that would have given DOD another $10 million to support clinical trials into the therapeutic potential of substances such as ibogaine and psilocybin<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, bipartisan congressional lawmakers recently met with the VA secretary to discuss pathways to provide access to psychedelic medicine<\/a>\u00a0as an alternative treatment option for conditions such as PTSD.<\/p>\n After\u00a0requesting the meeting with VA Secretary Doug Collins<\/a>\u00a0in May, Reps. Lou Correa (D-CA) and Jack Bergman (R-MI)\u2014founding co-chairs of the Congressional Psychedelic Advancing Therapies (PATH) Caucus\u2014said the three had a productive conversations about advancing psychedelics therapy for the veteran community.<\/p>\n Collins has stood out as a VA secretary who\u2019s especially passionate about exploring the potential of substances such as ibogaine and MDMA to provide relief from serious mental health conditions, coordinating with other officials including HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who said recently that his aim is to free up plant-based medicine options within 12 months<\/a>.<\/p>\n Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) separately said the\u00a0psychedelic ibogaine represents an \u201castonishing breakthrough\u201d<\/a>\u00a0in the nation\u2019s current \u201csick care system\u201d that\u2019s left people with serious mental health conditions without access to promising alternative treatment options\u2014and he intends to use his influence to advance the issue.<\/p>\n Separately, the U.S. House of Representatives recently included an amendment to a spending bill from Correa and Bergman that would encourage VA to support research into the benefits of psychedelics in treating medical conditions<\/a>\u00a0commonly affecting military veterans.<\/p>\n Collins, for his part, also disclosed in April that he had an \u201ceye-opening\u201d talk with Kennedy\u00a0about the therapeutic potential of psychedelic medicine<\/a>. And he 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 The secretary\u2019s visit to the psychedelics research center came about a month after the VA secretary met with a military veteran who\u2019s become an advocate for psilocybin access to\u00a0discuss the therapeutic potential of psychedelic medicine for the veteran community<\/a>.<\/p>\n Collins also\u00a0briefly raised the issue in a Cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump<\/a>\u00a0in April.<\/p>\n Correa and Bergman separately introduced a bill in April to provide $30 million in funding annually\u00a0to 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 \u2014 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 Kennedy, for his part, also said in April that\u00a0he had a \u201cwonderful experience\u201d with LSD at 15 years old<\/a>, which he took because he thought he\u2019d be able to see dinosaurs, as portrayed in a comic book he was a fan of.<\/p>\n Last October, Kennedy specifically criticized FDA under the prior administration over the agency\u2019s \u201csuppression of psychedelics\u201d and a laundry list of other issues that he said amounted to a \u201cwar on public health\u201d that would end under the Trump administration.<\/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\u00a0\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 The post Trump\u2019s VA Secretary Wants To \u2018See People Healed\u2019 With Psychedelics, But They\u2019re \u2018Tied Up With Regulation\u2019<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The head of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is reiterating that he\u2019s \u201cvery open\u201d to expanding access to psychedelics therapy for veterans\u2014emphasizing that he\u2019s intent on finding ways to \u201ccure\u201d people with serious mental health conditions and not just treat their surface-level\u00a0 symptoms. In an interview with NewsmaxContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":82396,"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\/82395"}],"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=82395"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82395\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82397,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82395\/revisions\/82397"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n\n
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\nRead More: Trump\u2019s VA Secretary Wants To \u2018See People Healed\u2019 With Psychedelics, But They\u2019re \u2018Tied Up With Regulation\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"