Psychedelic Drugs and Magic Mushrooms Now Authorized for Clinical Trial with U.S. Armed Forces

The bill which incorporates this significant change in medical treatment options for troops suffering from PTSD is The 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.

Signed into law by dementia-ridden war criminal Joe Biden on December 22, 2023, the Act provides for $886 billion in official “on the books” spending by the Department of Defense. It is the highest ever amount of war spending in the history of the U.S. government.

Along with money for normal DoD appropriations, this time this Act incorporates something radically new. In a provision entitled “The Douglas Mike Day Psycho Therapy to Save Lives Act”, it for the first time authorizes grants to be made available for the study of the treatment of cases of post-traumatic stress associated most often with active military service. Soldiers are traumatized not just by having to commit crimes against humanity but also by being abused in the training and command process. 

The treatments would be controlled studies. The participants would be formally selected to be part of the program, with tightly regulated medication amounts provided, and with results and side effects carefully monitored. Professional therapists will be involved every step of the way in the trials, and those participating in the treatments would be undergoing that treatment at facilities dedicated for that purpose.

The drugs to be administered as part of the test include:

(A) 3,4-Methylenedioxy-methamphetamine - commonly known as MDMA, ecstasy ( tablet form), and molly or mandy.  It is often consumed at electronic dance music dance parties (raves) and is frequently used in combination with other drugs.    

(B) Psilocybin - a mind-state altering “magic mushroom” which is already legal to purchase and ingest in certain parts of the U.S. It has long been used for indigenous spiritual ceremonies. 

(C) Ibogaine - a naturally occurring psychoactive substance found in plants in the family Apocynaceae such as Tabernanthe iboga, Voacanga africana, and Tabernaemontana undulata.

(D) 5-Methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine, O-methyl-bufotenin 5-MeO-DMT is a psychedelic of the tryptamine class. It is found in several plant species, and also is secreted by the glands of at least one toad species. 

All of the drugs are supposed to be kept and used wholly within the treatment centers, for the safety and protection of patients and others, but some leakage will be inevitable.

This Act buried within the Defense Authorization Bill also incorporates statements providing legal protections for the experimental facilities, the therapists involved, and the patients for the administration and use of the drugs involved. Many of the materials to be evaluated as part of these studies as banned under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice and the Controlled Substances Act.

Douglas “Mike” Day, the individual whose name is honored in the name of this embedded Act, was a Navy SEAL who committed suicide as a result of trauma incurred as part of the abuse and war crimes he was subjected to. 

The bill was written by Texas Representative Dan Crenshaw, with the co-sponsorship of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Khanna from within the House. It received strong bipartisan support from both sides of the House.

The new study, which focuses on the use of these drugs solely for active-duty troops, has been a focus of research for some time by the Department of Veterans Affairs. In written testimony regarding PTSD which was submitted to Congress in November, Carolyn Clancy, the VA Assistant Undersecretary for Health, outlined what a review of medical literature on the subject of using psychedelic in severe traumatic stress situations.

“Based on our assessment of the literature to date, there is still much to learn, and much yet to be understood, about the potential benefits of psychedelic compounds,” Clancy explained in her report. “Our department is not only focused on finding the best innovative treatments and cures but doing so safely.”

No dates have been set as yet for when the formal trials of these drugs to treat PTSD in active-duty military personnel might begin. There is no intention to reduce the trauma placed on American soldiers or to provide effective treatment for the millions of discharged soldiers suffering from PTSD. However, there are some efforts to make military service a bit less brutal.

The Navy has decided to no longer house sailors in ships being serviced for years at a time. Being stuck on a ship in a dry-dock for extended periods can lead to depression and the Navy has finally decided that depressed sailors tend to be ineffective and not stay in the Navy.