Georgia Senators Discuss Benefits Of Psychedelic Therapy For Military Veterans

Georgia senators are exploring psychedelics therapy as a potential alternative treatment for military veterans as part of a special committee assignment.

The Senate Study Committee on Veterans’ Mental Health and Housing held a hearing on Tuesday to take testimony from experts on the efficacy of substances such as psilocybin and MDMA to treat severe mental health conditions that often afflict the veteran community, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Representatives of the psychedelics-focused organizations Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions (VETS) and Reason for Hope were among those who testified before the panel, which was established under a resolution enacted earlier this year with a mandate to examine homelessness and veterans-related issues.

“I’d like to thank you for considering this important initiative. It’s critically important,” VETS co-founder Marcus Capone, who served 13 years as a Navy Seal, told the committee. “We hope you know your efforts will educate other members of legislature about the important research that can be done in in Georgia and the acute need to expand access to these life saving therapies.”

“Our mission is to end veteran suicide, and together we can do that,” he said.

Sen. Josh McLaurin (D) said that there’s “hard evidence” that psychedelic-assisted therapy works “for a lot of people,” but he pointed out that there’s a “decades-long history of drug war cultural issues in the United States that make the public uncertain or question what this is.”

To that end, he signaled interest in promoting research into psychedelic substances to “close the the gap here to make sure that if this stuff really works as well as we have the testimony that it does, that we can get the right answers about how to integrate this into our our mental health care system.”

Capone said he agrees with that approach, though he added that it’d be beneficial to also begin clinical trials to expedite the research process.

Martin Steele, a retired Marine lieutenant general and co-founder of Reason for Hope, told the panel that “I firmly believe we have a moral responsibility to provide those who selflessly served our nation with the best possible care to heal from the invisible wounds of war and live meaningful and fulfilling lives.”

“Sadly, I have spent years working with many of our selfless warriors who feel abandoned by the treatment provided within the system,” he said. “While additional research will always be needed, a growing body of evidence suggests that these psychedelic therapies can provide rapid, robust and durable healing for a variety of mental health conditions.”

Sen. Chuck Payne (R), chair of the special committee, said at the close of the hearing that members should submit their individual reports on the broader veterans issues they considered over multiple meetings so that they can be compiled into a final report. At that point, they’ll schedule a final hearing to approve the report that they’re required to provide to the legislature.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) “was created for one reason: To drag feet long enough until people were no longer around to need help,” the chairman said.

“We see that more and more at the federal level. It’s not about getting things done, it’s about people making names for themselves,” he said. “But we at the state level are actually where the rubber hits the road and we can make great impact in influencing and advancing lives in our state.”

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This conversation within the Georgia legislature has been ongoing over the last few years.

For example, lawmakers also discussed the therapeutic potential of psychedelics like psilocybin for serious mental health conditions at a hearing focused on veterans in 2022.

The House Defense and Veterans Affairs Committee approved a bipartisan resolution that year that called for the formation of a House study committee to investigate the therapeutic potential of psychedelics and make recommendations for reforms. But there were more than a dozen study committee that were created during that session, and the psychedelics proposal was set aside and not enacted.

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Photo elements courtesy of carlosemmaskype and Apollo.