Are psychedelics the future of treating veteran mental health?

Can psychedelics help veteran mental health?

Research in treating PTSD and veteran suicide is leading to some interesting areas, including using psychedelics. FOX 7's Mike Warren speaks with Mitch Fuller with Texas Veterans of Foreign Wars to learn more.

AUSTIN, Texas - The push for better treatments for PTSD and veteran suicide is leading to some interesting areas; specifically, psychedelics like magic mushrooms and MDMA, also known as ecstasy.

At this stage, it's all about clinical trials to see if these psychedelics actually work.

FOX 7 Austin's Mike Warren spoke with Mitch Fuller with the Texas Veterans of Foreign Wars to learn more.

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MIKE WARREN: I want to get into what the state of Texas is doing, and what the feds are trying to do. But before that, you are an advocate of psychedelics at this point. Tell me why.

MITCH FULLER: I think, Mike, I appreciate the opportunity to talk with you again. This is the theme that we talk about in Texas when we advocate in the Texas Legislature. We want our veteran brothers and sisters to have access to all alternatives to opioids. So that's the overarching theme. And psychedelics have been proven to work. The VA has studied them a little bit. And, you know, the press release that they released on Jan. 5. requests for acquisition to study this. So it's another alternative to opioids that is way more effective than the pharmaceutical fog, you know, that the VA has, unfortunately, that's their default position is to give you a bunch of pills.

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MIKE WARREN: Over 34,000 Texans were treated for PTSD last year just in Texas. What is the timeline on getting these medications to the average veteran?

MITCH FULLER: Well, we need to make sure that we continue to study it. And that's what the VA, the press release a few weeks ago did. And in Texas, House Bill 1802 was passed in 2021, which is a study of MDMA with Baylor University that passed with broad bipartisan support. So there's momentum in Texas to do that. And that bill was brought forth by former Gov. Perry and passed the legislature with broad bipartisan support. So we need to continue to push to study it and get these clinical trials going and make this available to our veterans.

MIKE WARREN: As of right now, the state of Texas is kind of ahead of the feds as far as trials and clinical studies.

MITCH FULLER: Yes, and there was a there was a series of bills in the last session in 2023, one of which that did pass the House, and it didn't get a hearing in the Senate, but the VFW supported those bills. So there were four or five bills. And there's a coalition, Warrior Angel Foundation, other groups that we work with, to get this issue, if this issue forward. It's all about alternatives to opioids.

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MIKE WARREN: Talking about the research so far: psychedelics are working. Why?

MITCH FULLER: They are working because, and the VA has done small studies on their facilities with non-VA funding. And it's just proven to really address depression, suicidal ideation and other factors; a TBI, traumatic brain injury. So there's enough evidence now that, and I think there's momentum in other states as well, to continue to study this and make it available.

MIKE WARREN: Is this breakthrough?

MITCH FULLER: Yes. And the FDA has their term of art here. It's a breakthrough therapy status. So the FDA has ruled MDMA's a breakthrough therapy status in 2018 and psilocybin in the same category in 2019.