Bipartisan Congressional Lawmakers Push To Support Psychedelics Research With $10 Million Amendment To Defense Spending Bill

Bipartisan congressional lawmakers have teamed up on another psychedelics
amendment to appropriations legislation—this time seeking to give the
Department of Defense (DOD) another $10 million to support clinical trials
into the therapeutic potential of substances such as ibogaine and psilocybin
.

Under spending legislation that was enacted last session, DOD is already
mandated to conduct the trials, with $10 million in funding, to investigate
the medical value of psychedelics for active duty military members.

Now a bipartisan coalition of House lawmakers are seeking to provide
additional support to widen the scope of the department’s research as it
moves to fulfill its mandate.

Led by Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX), a Navy SEAL veteran himself who has
been candid about his own experience benefitting from ibogaine and
5‐MeO‐DMT, the amendment would transfer the $10 million to “enable DoD Wide
psychedelic medical clinical trails for the Defense Health Program
research, development, test and evaluation.”

A spokesperson for Luttrell told Marijuana Moment on Friday that, if the
amendment is adopted, the designated funding “would be placed in the
Defense Health Program Research and Development line” at DOD.

Reps. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Sara Jacobs (D-CA) and Nancy Mace (R-NC)—as well
as Reps. Jack Bergman (R-MI) and Lou Correa (D-CA), who serve as co-chairs
of the Congressional Psychedelic Advancing Therapies (PATH) Caucus.

The House Rules Committee will determine if the amendment should be made in
order for floor consideration during a hearing on Monday.

This proposal comes as bipartisan lawmakers and stakeholders continue to
see advances in the debate over psychedelics medicine.

For example, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) recently said
the psychedelic ibogaine represents an “astonishing breakthrough” in the
nation’s current “sick care system” that’s left people with serious mental
health conditions without access to promising alternative treatment
options—and he intends to use his influence to advance the issue.

Meanwhile, a Navy SEAL veteran credited with killing Osama Bin Laden said
during a Fox News interview this week that psychedelic therapy has helped
him process the trauma he experienced during his time in the military, stressing
that “it works” and should be an available treatment option.

That interview came days after the U.S. House of Representatives 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 commonly affecting military veterans.

Last month, meanwhile, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said his agency is “absolutely committed”
to expanding research on the benefits of psychedelic therapy and, alongside
of the head of FDA, is aiming to provide legal access to such substances
for military veterans “within 12 months.”

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins also
disclosed in April that he had an “eye-opening” talk with Kennedy about the
therapeutic potential of psychedelic medicine. And he said he’s 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.

Collins also recently visited a facility conducting research on psychedelics,
and he reiterated that it’s his “promise” to advance research into the
therapeutic potential of the substances—even if that might take certain
policy changes within the department and with congressional support.

The secretary’s visit to the psychedelics research center came about a
month after the VA secretary met with a military veteran who’s become an
advocate for psilocybin access to discuss the therapeutic potential of
psychedelic medicine for the veteran community.

Collins also briefly raised the issue in a Cabinet meeting with President
Donald Trump in April.

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.

In a letter sent to Collins, Reps. Lou Correa (D-CA) and Jack Bergman
(R-MI)—co-chairs of the Congressional Psychedelic Advancing Therapies
(PATH) Caucus—said they were “encouraged by your recent remarks about the
importance of pursuing research into psychedelic treatments and other
alternative treatments to improve Veterans’ care.”

Correa and Bergman separately introduced a bill in April to provide $30
million in funding annually to establish psychedelics-focused “centers for
excellence” at VA facilities, where veterans could receive novel treatment
involving substances like psilocybin, MDMA and ibogaine.


*— Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug
policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon
supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps,
charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.*


*Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on
Patreon to get access. —*

Bergman has also expressed optimism about the prospects of advancing
psychedelics reform under Trump, arguing that the administration’s efforts
to cut spending and the federal workforce will give agencies “spines” to
tackle such complex issues.

Kennedy, for his part, also said in April that he had a “wonderful
experience” with LSD at 15 years old, which he took because he thought he’d
be able to see dinosaurs, as portrayed in a comic book he was a fan of.

Last October, Kennedy specifically criticized FDA under the prior
administration over the agency’s “suppression of psychedelics” and a
laundry list of other issues that he said amounted to a “war on public
health” that would end under the Trump administration.

In December, VA separately announced that it’s providing $1.5 million in
funding to study the efficacy of MDMA-assisted therapy for veterans with
PTSD and alcohol use disorder (AUD).

Last year, VA’s Yehuda also touted an initial study the agency funded that
produced “stunning and robust results” from its first-ever clinical trial
into MDMA therapy.

In January, former VA Under Secretary for Health Shereef Elnahal said that
it was “very encouraging” that Trump’s pick to have Kennedy lead HHS has
supported psychedelics reform. And he hoped to work with him on the issue
if he stayed on for the next administration, but that didn’t pan out.

*Photo elements courtesy of carlosemmaskype and Apollo.*

The post Bipartisan Congressional Lawmakers Push To Support Psychedelics
Research With $10 Million Amendment To Defense Spending Bill appeared first
on Marijuana Moment.