Rep. Crenshaw, R-Texas: “Why am I pushing this? Because it works.” Image: martin_stuard/Shutterstock.com
A bill has been introduced in Congress to authorize the study of psychedelic therapy to treat service connected conditions such as PTSD or traumatic brain injury (TBI).
“I’m once again calling on Congress to use this year’s NDAA [National Defense Authorization Act] to direct the secretary of defense to provide grants for further research,” Texas Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw, the bill’s sponsor and former Navy SEAL, said. “Why am I pushing this? Because it works.”
Psychedelic drug therapies may have prevented the suicide of Douglas “Mike” Day, the former SEAL for whom the bill is named, Crenshaw believes.
Crenshaw also cited the case of another veteran, former soldier Jonathan Lubecky, who underwent the treatment and experienced good results. “If I hadn’t gone through it, my son would have a folded flag, and instead, he has a father,” Lubecky said in a statement supporting the measure. “I think we need more mothers and fathers and less folded flags.”
The measure has support from an array of veterans’ organizations.
Its passage would be “a critical step in ending the suicide epidemic plaguing our active-duty and veteran populations,” said Marcus Capone, also a former SEAL, who underwent the treatment. Capone heads an organization called Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions.
Service members and veterans “should not have to struggle silently with their visible and invisible wounds,” said Donald Franklin of the Special Operations Association of America. “They need hope. Mike Day needed hope.”
The measure has bipartisan support, for example garnering Reps. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, as cosponsors.
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