With cannabis making strides in the legalization process around the country, psychedelics might be the next wave. One apparent advocate is Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the country’s Health and Human Services Secretary. RFK Jr., along with the U.S. Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), stated his intention to extend legal access to the drugs for veterans in the next year.
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On Tuesday, Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) asked Kennedy about his plans to advance psychedelics studies, and the Secretary said that there are currently “11 clinical trials at the VA going on at this point—particularly for our service members and retired service members.” RFK claimed that he speaks with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins about the matter often.
In his inquiry, Crenshaw emphasized the importance of psychedelic therapies, especially for those with mental health conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
“It’s critically important that we make sure that the science on this is solid, and the preliminary results are very, very encouraging, and it’s something that we want to pursue,” Kennedy said at the hearing.
Collins told the Shawn Ryan Show in April that he had a revelatory talk with Kennedy about the health benefits of psychedelics, and that he is open to the government providing vouchers for veterans to be able to access it through channels outside the VA.
Last week, the VA head visited the VA Bronx Health Care System, a facility conducting research on psychedelic substances. He promised to support present and future research into drugs like MDMA and their benefits for veterans, as well as helping pass legislation to make such treatments possible.
Reps. Lou Correa and Jack Bergman (D-CA and R-MI, respectively) sent a letter to Collins expressing their optimism about his commitment to extending access to psychedelic treatments to veterans. The two, who serve as co-chairs of the Congressional Psychedelic Advancing Therapies Caucus (PATH), introduced the Innovative Therapies Centers of Excellence Act in April to approve $30 million in funding annually to create psychedelic centers where veterans could access psilocybin and more.
The House just voted to let VA doctors recommend medical marijuana to Veterans and to lead more psychedelics research and access, a directive supported by Correa and Bergman, as well as Reps. Brian Mast (R-FL) and Dave Joyce (R-OH), co-chairs of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus.
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RFK has spoken of psychedelics before, citing an experience with LSD when he was 15 years old. He said it was a “wonderful experience,” but it eventually led him to a decade-long heroin addiction. He’s repeatedly criticized the FDA for its “suppression of psychedelics.”
Kennedy is also famous for his strange takes on public health, including his insistence that vaccines cause autism (they do not). The Secretary’s slogan is ‘Make America Healthy Again,’ and while his ability to do so is questionable at best, it seems that he’s willing to take some bold routes in his pursuit.