Veterans Affairs to fund $1.5M study on MDMA therapy for PTSD, alcohol use | Where to buy Skittles Moonrock online

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The Department of Veterans Affairs will fund a $1.5 million study of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for veterans with PTSD and alcohol use disorder, marking its first foray into psychedelic research in over 50 years, officials announced Tuesday.

The clinical trial, led by Brown and Yale researchers, begins enrolling participants in fiscal year 2025 at VA medical centers in Providence, Rhode Island and West Haven, Connecticut. Researchers will study how MDMA, a known component in the street drug ecstasy, may enhance psychotherapy sessions.

“VA is on the cutting edge of clinical research for Veteran health, including in the investigation of psychedelics for mental health,” VA Under Secretary for Health Shereef Elnahal said in a statement. “This study will give us better insight into the potential of MDMA-assisted therapy as a treatment for Veterans.”

During an October panel with Congressional lawmakers, Elnahal said the study will include a low-dose MDMA control group to account for research bias, according to Marijuana Moment. Rachel Yehuda, mental health director at VA’s James J. Peters Medical Center, reported “stunning and robust results” from an initial VA-funded trial in August.

The study represents a big step up in federal research policy. Just a few months ago, the FDA rejected Lykos Therapeutics’ broader application for MDMA-assisted PTSD therapy.

The health agency has also delayed other innovative treatment studies — taking three years and five rejections before recently approving clinical trials for medical cannabis to treat PTSD in veterans. The Senate this year approved measures allowing VA doctors to recommend medical marijuana in legal states, a policy it has endorsed annually since 2015. The House passed similar legislation plus psychedelic research support.

The VA said the study is part of the Biden administration’s pledge earlier this year to evaluate psychedelics’ safety and effectiveness when combined with psychotherapy for veterans’ mental health conditions.

Any future rollout of these sorts of therapies would run into logistical hurdles, a reality the department has apparently been preparing for. MDMA therapy requires controlled doses administered over several hours under professional supervision, necessitating dedicated spaces and trained staff. The VA said on Tuesday that it “strongly discourages self-medicating with psychedelics or any other unprescribed substances.”

The program’s future remains uncertain as former Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), who opposed medical cannabis access for veterans in Congress, is expected to be nominated as VA secretary in 2025 under the incoming Trump administration, according to Marijuana Moment.

State initiatives could complement the federal research. Oregon launched the nation’s first legal psilocybin program in 2023, while Colorado has moved to decriminalize certain psychedelics. Massachusetts failed to legalize psychedelic therapy via a ballot initiative last month.

Veterans’ advocacy groups praised the move.

“Drug prohibition has adversely effected patients in both camps by setting back the timeline on discovery of ‘cures’ from psychedelics while also dooming so many Veterans and other patients to endless pain and suffering that might have been spared by access to a simple plant medicine,” the Veterans Action Council said.