Conservative Republican politicians standing outside of Congress, holding a press conference, advocating for the legal use of psychedelic medicine.
The times are definitely changing.
And so is public sentiment and the taboo around psychedelics.
On Wednesday, Republican lawmakers and former military veterans spoke to the public about the benefits of psychedelic medicine and the urgent need to give soldiers access to these therapies.
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), himself a wounded military veteran, has been pushing for access to psychedelics, having witnessed first-hand how it’s helped fellow service members. Crenshaw is leading a piece of legislation called the “Douglas ‘Mike’ Day Psychedelic Therapy to Save Lives Act of 2023,” named after a Navy SEAL who died this year.
The bill, if passed, would devote $75 million in federal grant money to research into psychedelics therapy, focused on health conditions faced by veterans and active service members.
I’m live now unveiling the Douglas ‘Mike’ Day Psychedelic Therapy To Save Lives Act: https://t.co/LxuJeHAOoA pic.twitter.com/qpkKuTkKE5
— Rep. Dan Crenshaw (@RepDanCrenshaw) June 14, 2023
The Republican congressman was joined by Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX), a military veteran who went abroad for psychedelic-assisted treatment with ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT. The veteran shared how psychedelics changed his life and was “one of the greatest things that ever happened to me.”
“If you find yourself in a place that you were lost, and no other modalities have worked, this could possibly be that tool,”
“And I can honestly stand in front of all of you and the American public and say I was reborn. This changed my life. It saved my marriage. It is one of the greatest things that ever happened to me.”
The bill would allocate funds to funding clinical trials into psychelics like psilocybin, ibogaine, MDMA and 5–MeO–DMT.
“I’m once again calling on Congress to use this year’s NDAA to direct the Secretary of Defense to provide grants for further research into the use of psychedelics to treat PTSD and TBI in our active-duty service members,” Rep. Dan Crenshaw said.
“Why am I pushing for this? Because it works. And as Mike’s widow Brenda would attest to, it could have saved Mike’s life,” Rep. Crenshaw said, referring to Mike Day – the namesake of the bill. Day served 21 years as a Navy SEAL, and tragically took his own life earlier this year.
The bill has a broad, bipartisan coalition of co-sponsors including Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and others.
Read the full bill here.
And see the press conference below.
