Trump is pushing psychedelic therapy for veterans — but red states can't keep up

Missouri state Rep. Dave Griffith has spent the last five years digging into research on how psychedelic-assisted therapy has helped veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

This May marked the end of his final legislative session in the House, and he pushed one last time for legislation to allow clinical trials of psychedelic-assisted therapy in Missouri. In the final days of session, the bill stalled in the Missouri Senate, after passing with overwhelming support in the House.

“I’m not going to be there next year, I’m term-limited out,” said Griffith, a Republican who served as chairman of the House Veterans and Armed Forces Committee. “It’s really passing the torch to a lot of the other veterans that are on the Veterans Committee and those that see the value in it.”

He was hopeful when he saw an announcement from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs last week for a new clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of methylenedioxymethamphetamine-assisted therapy, or MDMA-assisted therapy. MDMA is a synthetic substance made in a lab, according to the department, and it’s also called “ecstasy” or “molly” in recreational use.

“Kudos to President Trump for stepping up and taking the lead on this,” said Griffith of Jefferson City. “PTSD is really a killer among veterans. If you listen to the testimony that’s been taking place over the last five years just in the Missouri House alone, the life change that it’s had for them is a really compelling reason why something like this would work.”

The new trial comes after Trump signed an executive order in April titled, “Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness.” The order aims to increase clinical trial participation and accelerate innovative research models and drug approvals for psychedelic drugs.

It orders the secretary of health and human services to allocate at least $50 million to support and partner with state governments “that have enacted or are developing programs to advance psychedelic drugs for serious mental illnesses.”

Without passing legislation, Missouri will miss out on this opportunity, said Republican state Rep. Matthew Overcast of Ava.

Overcast was hopeful Trump’s April order would’ve helped “grease the wheels” on legislation he and state Rep. Richard West sponsored this year – to require the state to conduct a study on psilocybin- and ibogaine-assisted therapy.

“There’s been a lot of federal moving on things that the states have been reluctant to move on here in the last couple of months,” Overcast said. “So that’s exciting.”

According to the VA’s announcement, the department is involved in 19 other active clinical trials focused on psychedelic therapies for mental health conditions that are supported by more than $23 million in external funding.

The new trial, titled “A Randomized Controlled Trial of MDMA-Assisted Therapy for PTSD and Alcohol Use Disorder in U.S. Veterans,” will enroll approximately 80 veterans and compare outcomes between those receiving MDMA-assisted therapy and those receiving identical psychotherapy with an active placebo. The VA is coordinating with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and intends to share data from the trial with FDA.

The trial will take place at VA Providence Healthcare System, and recruit veterans from the Providence, Rhode Island, campus and VA Connecticut Healthcare System in West Haven, Connecticut.

For over 20 years, Trump’s executive order states that there have been more than 6,000 veteran suicides per year, and the current veteran suicide rate is more than twice as much as the non-veteran adult population.

Individuals, it says, suffering from major depressive disorder and substance abuse disorder, among other serious mental illnesses, can relapse or not fully respond to standard medical and psychiatric therapies.

“Despite massive federal investment into researching potential advancements in mental health care and treatment, our medical research system has yet to produce approved therapies that promote enduring improvements in the mental health condition of these most complex patients,” the order states. “Innovative methods are needed to find long-term solutions for these Americans beyond existing prescription medications.”

Missouri veterans John and Kara Grady, who own a hemp store in Rosebud wholeheartedly agree with the statement, they said. And they’d love to see Missouri veteran healthcare systems taking part in the clinical trials already underway.

“President Trump’s really been opening up the research for the veteran community,” John Grady said, “If you look at the numbers…we’ve lost more to mental health than we’ve lost to wars.”

The lack of movement on legislation for psychedelic-assisted therapy is among the reasons John Grady is running for state representative, against incumbent state Rep. Bruce Sassmann in the Republican primary.

“If you disagree with Trump on all kinds of things, at least he’s addressing this issue right here that pertains to veterans,” Grady said. “Hopefully, we can stop that number, stop that flow of our precious veterans dying just at their own hands because they don’t have treatment.”