Bipartisan Congressional Lawmakers File Bill Directing VA To Study Psychedelics As Alternative Therapies For Veterans

VA psychedelics research bill: a hard reset for veterans’ mental health

The VA psychedelics research bill arrives like a shot of truth at last call—unvarnished, overdue, and aimed straight at the heart of the problem. Bipartisan House members Jack Bergman and Lou Correa, co-chairs of the PATH Caucus, filed the Expanding Veterans’ Access to Emerging Treatments Act, better known as H.R. 7091. If passed, it orders the Department of Veterans Affairs to run clinical trials on psychedelic-assisted therapies for military veterans—ibogaine, 5-MeO-DMT, ketamine, psilocybin—measured not by hype but by outcomes. The goal is clinical rigor, not mysticism: test these tools against the brutality of PTSD, depression, chronic pain, traumatic brain injury, anxiety, and substance use disorder, then scale what works. This is veterans psychedelics research as policy, not promise. Think of it as opening a steel door in a concrete hallway: no incense, no faux spirituality—just data, safety, and access. Read the bill’s bones at the source—H.R. 7091 on Congress.gov—and you’ll see the intent spelled out in bureaucratic black and white.

What the bill actually does

Inside the fine print, the plan is clean and aggressive. Ninety days after enactment, VA must create an investigational research program for veterans with covered conditions. That program can launch clinical trials using “innovative treatments and emerging therapies,” including psychedelics and other modalities selected for their safety, efficacy, and ease of administration. The department can also build compassionate or extended access pathways, a lifeline for veterans who can’t wait for the full FDA playbook to run its course. There’s a one-year report to Congress listing participating clinics and early findings, and a two-year decision point to either sunset the program or keep the fire burning. For a government machine famous for moving like molasses, this timeline reads almost punk rock.

• Covered conditions: PTSD, depression, chronic pain, anxiety, substance use disorder, traumatic brain injury—plus others the VA secretary adds.
• Therapies in the mix: ibogaine, 5-MeO-DMT, ketamine, psilocybin—and non-psychedelic “emerging” plays like investigational drugs, deep brain neurostimulation, or hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
• Access tools: clinical trials first, with potential compassionate and extended access protocols for those who qualify.
• Accountability: clinic lists, study results, and a review of all therapies deployed due within one year.
• Sunset/extend: the VA can shut it down after two years or push forward based on outcomes.

Why this matters now

Veterans know the drill: try the pills, try the group, try to sleep. Try again. For too many, it’s not enough. That’s the uncomfortable truth this bill faces without flinching. Advocates praise the structure—a real federal on-ramp that moves beyond platitudes toward treatment. As one leading voice put it, the point is to “build the structure required for VA to evaluate and deliver [these therapies] responsibly.” Meanwhile, the broader drug policy landscape is shifting. Federal regulators are paying attention to the therapeutic potential of psilocybin, MDMA, and ketamine, while research quotas for controlled substances keep inching upward to meet demand. There’s even movement on rescheduling cannabis—see the signal flare in DEA Is ‘Drafting’ Rule To Reschedule Marijuana ‘ASAP,’ Trump’s First Pick For Attorney General Says—and a long-overdue push to cut red tape around Schedule I research. States, ever the laboratories of democracy, keep pushing their own levers. Consider how lawmakers chipped away at low-level penalties—see Delaware Lawmakers Approve Bill To Decriminalize Public Marijuana Use And Remove Threat Of Jail Time—a parallel reminder that public health and public policy can evolve together when ideology steps aside.

Don’t crash the plane on takeoff

There’s a catch, and it’s not small: one misstep—sloppy study design, lax safety protocols, overpromising—could spook the bureaucracy and stall momentum. The bill anticipates that with guardrails: pick therapies based on safety and administration, move through controlled access, report data, then decide. But the lessons are everywhere. State programs that move before the foundation is set can end up in limbo—just look at the legal whiplash chronicled in Alabama Medical Marijuana Regulators Extend Stay On Dispensary Due To Ongoing Litigation. And while voters keep nudging policy forward—see the modest, pragmatic approach contemplated in New Hampshire Lawmakers Take Up Bill To Let Voters Legalize ‘A Modest Amount’ Of Marijuana At The Ballot This November—federal agencies must stick the landing with training, screening, and follow-up. Psychedelic-assisted therapy is not just the molecule. It’s preparation, dosing, integration, and guardrails strong enough to carry the weight of real pain.

What to watch next

If H.R. 7091 becomes law, the clock starts. Within 90 days, the VA must stand up a research program. Within a year, Congress gets the first report: which clinics are in, what’s being studied, what early outcomes look like, and how compassionate or extended access is unfolding for those who need treatment yesterday. Two years in, the VA decides whether to sunset or expand. Watch the details. Inclusion criteria. Safety monitoring. How “ease of administration” shapes which compounds are prioritized. And whether the data—hard numbers on symptom reduction, remission rates, durability—hold up when the romance wears off. If the answer is yes, veterans finally get more than a new slogan. They get options that work. And that’s the whole point. If you’re ready to keep the conversation going and explore what’s next, wander over to our shop and stay awhile.