A rare sight unfolded in Washington last week. Three lawmakers, two Republicans and one Democrat, all with military ties, stood together and warned that one wrong move could kill the fast-growing push to legalize psychedelic medicine for veterans.
Rep. Jack Bergman, a retired Marine Corps three-star general, told a packed room that the current moment for psychedelics reform is “the most promising I have seen in years, but also the most fragile.” He stood beside Rep. Morgan Luttrell, a former Navy SEAL, and Rep. Lou Correa, a Democrat from California who serves on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
The three spoke at a forum hosted by the Psychedelic Medicine Coalition and Mission Within Foundation. Their core message was simple: veterans are dying while waiting for new PTSD treatments, and psychedelics like MDMA and psilocybin show real results where pills and talk therapy often fail.
Bergman put it bluntly. “We lose twenty veterans a day to suicide. That is not a statistic. Those are fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters.” The room fell silent.
Why Veterans Lead the Charge
More than 20 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans suffer from PTSD. The Department of Veterans Affairs says current treatments help only about half of them. Many stop taking the drugs because of side effects or because they simply stop working.
Early studies paint a different picture for psychedelics. The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) finished large Phase 3 trials of MDMA-assisted therapy last year. Patients who got three sessions of MDMA plus therapy saw two-thirds of them no longer qualify for a PTSD diagnosis two months later. Traditional treatments rarely come close to those numbers.
Luttrell, who went through the VA system himself after five combat tours, said he knows veterans who flew to Mexico or Jamaica for ibogaine or psilocybin because nothing here worked. “They should not have to leave the country or break the law to heal,” he said.
The Careful Dance on Capitol Hill
All three lawmakers agree the science is strong. The political path, however, is narrow.
Big drug companies have stayed quiet so far, but some worry they could push for tight patents and sky-high prices if the FDA approves MDMA next year. At the same time, parts of the DEA and old-guard regulators still see these substances as dangerous street drugs.
Correa warned that rushing bad legislation could trigger a backlash. “If we hand this to special interests or create a messy fight between agencies, we lose the public trust and the whole thing collapses,” he said.
The lawmakers want any new law to:
- Keep costs low for veterans
- Protect the VA’s ability to offer these therapies quickly
- Block excessive patents that would lock out smaller clinics
- Fund more research on ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT, two drugs that show promise for traumatic brain injury
What Happens Next
The FDA will decide on MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD as early as next summer. If approved, the DEA must move it from Schedule I to Schedule III within months. Lawmakers say the VA needs clear authority and funding to start offering it right away.
Separate bills in both the House and Senate already call for $75 million a year in grants for psychedelic research at universities and VA centers. Bergman and Luttrell say they will push to attach stronger veteran-access language when the big defense spending bill moves later this year.
A Personal Plea from the Stage
Before the forum ended, Luttrell looked straight at the veterans in the crowd. “I have buried too many teammates. I have held brothers while they cried because the pain would not stop. We have something that works. Congress needs to get out of the way and let you heal.”
The room erupted in long applause.
Veterans and families across the country now watch every vote and every hearing. One misstep could delay help for years. But for the first time, members from both parties say they are ready to cross the finish line together and bring psychedelic therapy home to the people who served.
