For years after serving in Afghanistan and Iraq, US Army Special Forces veteran Joe Hudak fought daily battles against the voices in his head, screaming out uneasy, dark and dangerous thoughts.
He lost multiple team members in combat during his two-year career with the Green Beret and tried everything he could to treat post-traumatic stress disorder – talk therapy, group therapy, drug therapy, and even swimming with dolphins.
However, his voice grew louder and Hudak tried to take his life. He survived, but many of his service members have not survived. An average of 17.6 veterans died of suicide every day in 2022, the most recent year when data is available.
“I couldn’t be happy. I was always angry and afraid. “Then, from the blue, my counter-terrorist forces were calling me one day and saying, ‘Hey, do you want to try some psychedelics?” ”
Joe Hudak was deployed in both Iraq and Afghanistan as a green beret. He fought PTSD and depression after 20 years of military management.
(Joe Hudak)
A few weeks later, Hudak was on his way from San Diego to Mexico and took part in a Stanford observational study using a psychedelic called Ibogaine to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression in special forces veterans.
After just one dose, Hudak experienced something he was desperately searching – silence.
“That voice in my head disappeared. [ibogaine] It saved my life,” he said. So legally, it saved my life. ”
One month after treatment, study participants experienced an average reduction in PTSD symptoms by 88%, an 87% reduction in depression symptoms, and an 81% reduction in anxiety symptoms.
“The difference between the two sides was very impressive,” said Dr. Ian Clutter, Stanford neuropsychiatrist, who co-led the study.
Hudak’s trip sponsors treatment solutions by veterans from a nonprofit organization that has helped more than 1,000 veterans access psychedelic therapy overseas. Supported by positive outcomes in Mexico, organizations are leading legislative solutions to make these treatments available in the US
In California, veterinarians are currently advocating Congressional Bill 1103. This will help you quickly track approvals for academic research on psychedelics.
Psychedelics such as Ibogaine, ayahuasca, psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA all have promising results in treating mental health conditions such as PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and treatment-resistant depression. However, they currently do not have federally approved medical uses.
“I realized that the only way to really move the veteran suicide epidemic ahead is through research and policy changes,” Amber Capone said.
2023, Gov. GavinNewsom rejected a bill that decriminalized possession of psychedelics and asked lawmakers to focus first on establishing regulations for treatment. Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) responded by proposing a 2024 bill to legalize psychedelic aid therapy, but died in the session.
AB 1103 has a narrower scope and will focus on changes to the California Research Advisory Board. This is responsible for approving Food and Drug Administration-approved studies, including the management of Schedule I and II drugs. The burden of regulation at this state-level, which is not present outside of California, could delay the start of research.
According to Khurshid Khoja, the veterinarian policy director who helped draft AB 1103, the delay actually has consequences as more veterans dying from suicide every day in America than they die every day during the Vietnam or Gulf War.
“It’s a very high number of massive protests if it’s happening on the battlefield, but instead this is happening quietly,” he said. “If one veteran has the help in time, it’s worth it.”
Veterans Exploration Treatment Solutions held Legislative Day in Sacramento on May 14th to support Congressional Bill 1103.
(Veterin)
The California Research Advisory Board was established in the late 1960s for veterinary research on controlled substances for safety and legitimacy, and helped them move forward without the concerns of law enforcement.
In 1970, Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act, directing measures that researchers across the country had to take to use controlled substances in their studies. California never ruled out the advisory board and thus became both a state and federal approval process.
The issue of the advisory committee came into view last year when they didn’t meet for 11 months due to a dispute over state law that required government meetings to be made public. The state bill, in which veterinarians supported the last legislative meeting, helped them run the meeting again, but for almost a year, new research proposals, including psychedelics, could not advance in California.
AB 1103 is looking to establish a permanent solution by allowing Schedule I and II drug research to be approved without waiting for a full advisory panel meeting. Under the bill, researchers who can demonstrate that FDA-approved studies are already compliant with California law will be eligible to approve the proposal within a few days by a smaller group of panel members.
The bill, sponsored by Congressional member Christopher Ward (D-San Diego), cleared the state legislature last month and is currently awaiting approval in the state Senate.
There has been debate about whether the Research Advisory Committee should be lifted entirely, but veterinarians support reform and sustaining the panel, saying they play a useful role in ensuring the safety of these pioneering research.
For example, Ibogaine can cause cardiac complications if a patient’s heart health is not properly evaluated prior to administration. Psychedelics can cause mental illness in individuals underlying mental health conditions, and in rare cases, they can cause seizures.
Veterinarians will lobby for a new bill to speed up research into psychedelic therapy in veterans with PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and other service-related conditions.
(Veterin)
Interest in the therapeutic use of psychedelics is currently surged across the country, with veterans playing a key role in invading among conservative groups who previously pursued legalization of these substances.
Given the supporters of stereotypical psychedelics, one might imagine the image of a hippie living in a California commune and covered in tidais to protest the war.
Army veterans have different populations. Many come from the South and Midwest, tend to lean right, often retaining conservative values. This can give them a powerful voice when talking to both sides of the aisle and helping them pass bipartisan law.
Earlier this month, Texas passed a veterinarian-sponsored bill that will create a $50 million drug development trial fund for Ibogaine, the largest publicly funded psychedelic research initiative launched by governments around the world. One of the bill’s biggest champions was Rick Perry, a former Texas governor and Air Force veteran.
“I was hearing it, studying the research, seeing these veterans and fighter jets. The man who returned from Ibogaine treatment in Mexico was healed and ultimately the whole thing was healed,” Perry said in a statement regarding the passage of the bill. “Ibogain gave them peace when they couldn’t do anything else.”
Ibogaine is a psychoactive compound from the bark of the roots of West African shrubs and has been used by indigenous people for medical and spiritual purposes for hundreds of years. Taking it results in a fierce, introspective psychedelic trip that researchers say will help people at the root of substance abuse and mental disorders to handle trauma or emotional pain.
Another veteran who participated in the Stanford University study said he had experienced life-changing effects within days of receiving Ibogaine treatment.
“I didn’t want to drink, chew a cigarette, or suicidal thoughts. I felt the whole thing again,” Sean said.
Shawn also experienced significant improvements in memory and cognitive testing after returning from Mexico.
Some researchers report that ibogaine may be able to repair areas of the brain by increasing the levels of molecules called trophic factors that encourage brain cells to promote new connections.
“If this is how it works, it might help the brain rewire in a healthier way,” he said.
Kratter said the results of Stanford’s observational study were “very encouraging” and would require replicating in large-scale controlled trials.
Three years after receiving Ibogain treatment, Sean remains calm and has great relationships with himself and his family, he said.
“I became something for it for that because it saves a life,” he said. “We have six people who worked very closely in the army that committed suicide. If we can put this out there and save lives, it’s huge.”
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