Increasing evidence shows psychedelic drugs like MDMA may treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but getting those drugs into the Veterans Administration is still a slow process.
Studies have shown that - combined with therapy - the drugs can dramatically reduce symptoms that contribute to elevated suicide risk for veterans, said Rajeev Ramchand with the Veterans Policy Research Institute at RAND Corporation.
“We definitely need new approaches and new solutions,” he said. “At the same time, we need to make sure that what we're doing is safe, is legit, is evidence-informed to make sure that …we don't make a situation worse and that we're really giving veterans treatments that work and that help.”
Earlier in November, Ramchand testified before a U.S. House Veterans Affairs subcommittee on veterans health. It was the first Congressional hearing on psychedelics since the 1960s.
There are still a number of questions about how the drugs work and the long-term consequences. Advocates urged lawmakers to streamline the rules to make studying the drugs easier for researchers.
The VA is partnering in several studies related to psychedelics as treatment. While at least five clinical trials are being conducted at VA facilities around the country, none of them are funded by the VA. The VA also hasn’t published guidance for doctors to discuss psychedelics with their patients, Ramchand said.
“There's a lot of pressure coming from the veteran community, a community of people who are witnessing their brothers and sisters die by suicide or suffer from PTSD,” he said. “I think people who've had positive experiences with psychedelics are really encouraged by them.”
The VA wants to see more studies that look specifically at veterans, Ramchand said.
Private studies like one run by the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in Richmond operate under strict controls.
At the moment, drugs like MDMA and synthetic psilocybin are tightly regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The emphasis is on safety, but the rules make it more difficult to expand the studies to provide the kind of information the VA would want before offering the treatment to veterans.
Instead of official studies, veterans have sought treatment outside the VA system, finding clinics in other country that will provide psychedelics as treatment.
