GOP-Led Reform Allows Active Armed Services Members To Take Part In VA Psychedelic Therapy Trials Passes House

The amendment from U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) to the Defense Appropriations Act was adopted by a House voice vote on Wednesday.

The psychedelic-focused amendment requires the Defense Health Agency to report to Congress options for active service members to take part in Veterans Affairs psychedelic-assisted therapy clinical trials.

"We have a crisis, and the idea that we wouldn’t research potential breakthrough treatments is unacceptable," stated Crenshaw. "The status quo is inadequate and won’t stop veterans and servicemembers from committing suicide. But I believe this research will."

The news came some six months after a bipartisan legislative effort led by Crenshaw urging the participation of active-duty service members in the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded research with psychedelics.

My amendment to the Defense Appropriations Act was just adopted by a voice vote.

It takes the simple yet important step of directing the Defense Health Agency to report to Congress options for our service members to participate in VA psychedelic-assisted therapy clinical trials. pic.twitter.com/oD6FHpQpO0

— Rep. Dan Crenshaw (@RepDanCrenshaw) September 27, 2023

In a follow-up post on X, previously known as Twitter, Crenshaw highlighted the idea behind the amendment is not to legalize psychedelics, as this is not about recreational use: “It’s about honoring our promise to our military families and confronting the high incidence of suicide in the military community.”

Another psychedelics-focused amendment, sponsored by Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-Texas) and Crenshaw was also approved. This amendment would fund the Department of Defense with $15 million to conduct Psychedelic Medical Clinical Trials.

The House vote came on the same day as a historic vote in the Senate Banking Committee, where the SAFER Banking Act passed and will now move into the full Senate for a potential vote.

Additionally, on Tuesday the House also approved a marijuana amendment to a spending bill for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies (Ag-FDA) that’s sponsored by Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.): Amendment No. 59 “increases and decreases funding for the Food and Drug Administration by $1,000,000 to express the intent that FDA begins requiring drug manufacturers to label prescribed pharmaceuticals with any known drug interactions with marijuana.”

The idea behind this amendment is to make sure there are warning labels on some pharmaceuticals, like there are for alcohol, highlighting the possible drug interactions with cannabis.

See Also: Historic Move: Congressional Committee Removes Cannabis Use As Barrier To Fed Jobs, Schumer Advances Banking Reform

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Photo: Benzinga edit with images by Jessica Radanavong and Christopher Ott via Unsplash, and Wikimedia Commons