The Power Of Psychedelic Therapy For Members Of The Military
1A
NPR
4.3 • 4.5K Ratings
🗓️ 8 February 2024
⏱️ 36 minutes
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Summary
Last December, Congress passed legislation that included funding for clinical trials of psychedelic-assisted therapy for active-duty service members. And just last month, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it will also begin funding psychedelic-assisted therapy to treat veterans with PTSD and depression.
This comes at a time when suicide rates amongst active-duty service members are at an all-time high.
We dive into what psychedelic-assisted therapy is and the effect it could have on active-duty and veteran mental health.
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| 0:00.0 | Support for NPR and the following message come from The Economist. |
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| 0:07.0 | Tune into the world with an Economist Podcast Plus subscription. |
| 0:10.0 | Search Economist Plus and for a limited time get 50% off your first year. Psychdellic drugs are on the verge of a breakthrough. They're legal in two states, |
| 0:29.5 | decriminalized in others. Some could be approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat PTSD or depression |
| 0:35.3 | as soon as this year. |
| 0:36.9 | But there's no doubt that drugs like silosibin and MDMA still have a stigma, and that's why this is so remarkable. |
| 0:46.0 | Rise in support of amendment 23 to create a grant program for psychedelic treatment for |
| 0:51.4 | PTSD that may come as a shock to many. |
| 0:55.0 | And I say good, because to be frank, we need new ideas because it seems we are losing the battle with veteran suicide. |
| 1:02.0 | That was Congressman Dan Krenshaw, a combat veteran and Republican from Texas, advocating for federal funding |
| 1:08.0 | back in 2022, and it was remarkable because in December, Congress directed the Pentagon to start studying |
| 1:14.9 | whether psychedelic drug can help soldiers recover from the trauma of experiencing |
| 1:19.8 | war. And just last month the Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it will also |
| 1:24.1 | begin funding psychedelic-assisted therapy to treat veterans with PTSD and depression. |
| 1:29.9 | After the break, we dive into how psychedelic-assisted therapy could help soldiers and veterans and |
| 1:34.8 | what role that therapy might play in easing PTSD and other mental health burdens of combat. |
| 1:40.9 | I'm Todd Zwillick in for Jen White. You're listening to the |
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