Joe Hudak, a member of the U.S. Army Special Forces, battled a voice in his head that screamed dangerous, dark, and fearful thoughts every day for years after serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.
He tried everything to address his post-traumatic stress disorder, including talk therapy, group therapy, medicine, and even swimming with dolphins, after losing several squad members in war during his two-decade Green Berets career.
However, the voice just got stronger, and Hudak tried to kill himself. While many service members do not survive, he did. In 2022, the most recent year for which statistics are available, 17.6 veterans died by suicide on average every day.
I was unable to be joyful. “I was constantly angry and afraid, living my life on my knees,” he stated. Then, one day, I got a call from a friend in the counterterrorism unit who asked whether I would be interested in trying psychedelics.
A few weeks later, Hudak was traveling from San Diego to Mexico to take part in an observational research at Stanford that used the psychedelic ibogaine to treat depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder in Special Forces veterans.
One pill was all it took for Hudak to feel the silence he had been longing for.
I had lost the voice in my head. He said that ibogaine was the reason he survived. And I don’t mean it in a casual way; I mean that it actually saved my life.
On average, study participants reported an 88% decrease in PTSD symptoms, an 87% decrease in depression symptoms, and an 81% decrease in anxiety symptoms one month following therapy.
According to Dr. Ian Kratter, a neuropsychiatrist from Stanford who co-led the study, the difference between the before and after was simply remarkable.
Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions, a foundation that has assisted over 1,000 veterans in obtaining psychedelic therapy overseas, sponsored Hudak’s trip. The group is leading legislative efforts to help make these medicines available in the United States, encouraged by the encouraging outcomes in Mexico.
In order to expedite the acceptance of scholarly research on psychedelics, VETS is now supporting Assembly Bill 1103 in California.
In the therapy of mental health disorders like PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and treatment-resistant depression, psychedelics like ibogaine, ayahuasca, psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA have all had encouraging outcomes. But as of right now, they have no certified medicinal uses by the federal government.
According to Amber Capone, who co-founded VETS with her husband Marcus Capone, a former Navy SEAL who also attributes his life to ibogaine, “we realized that the only way to really get ahead of the veteran suicide epidemic is through research and policy change.”
A bill to decriminalize the possession of psychedelics was vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2023, requesting that lawmakers first concentrate on creating laws for their medicinal usage. A 2024 bill to allow psychedelic-assisted therapy was proposed by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), but it was killed in session.
More specifically, AB 1103 would amend the California Research Advisory Panel, which is in charge of authorizing any research involving the administration of Schedule I and II medications that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Studies may be delayed by this state-level regulatory burden, which does not exist outside of California.
According to VETS policy director Khurshid Khoja, who assisted in the drafting of AB 1103, “delays have real consequences, as more veterans are dying by suicide in America on a daily basis than died each day during the Vietnam or Gulf wars.”
He claimed that because of the incredibly high number, there would be widespread protests if it were taking place on a battlefield, but instead it is occurring in silence. We believe it’s worth it if assistance reaches a veteran in time.
In order to verify the safety and validity of studies on banned substances and assist them in proceeding without raising issues with law enforcement, California’s Research Advisory Panel was founded in the late 1960s.
The Controlled chemicals Act, passed by Congress in 1970, established the procedures that researchers nationwide had to follow in order to employ controlled chemicals in their studies. California ended up having both a state and federal approval process since it never abolished the advisory panel.
The advisory panel’s problems were made clear last year when it missed 11 months of meetings because of a dispute over a state statute that mandates public meetings for government. Meetings were resumed thanks to a state bill that VETS backed during the previous legislative session, but no new psychedelic research proposals could proceed in California for nearly a year.
By enabling the approval of studies on Schedule I and II medications without requiring a full advisory panel meeting, AB 1103 aims to create a long-term solution. The bill would allow researchers to have their proposal authorized by a smaller panel of panel members in a couple of days if they can demonstrate that their FDA-licensed study already complies with California law.
After passing the state Assembly last month, the bill—sponsored by Assemblymember Christopher Ward (D-San Diego)—is currently pending ratification in the state Senate.
VETS supports reforming and maintaining the Research Advisory Panel, arguing that it helps ensure the safety of these groundbreaking investigations, despite disagreements about whether it should be eliminated completely.
For instance, if the patient’s cardiac condition is not adequately evaluated before to injection, ibogaine may result in cardiac problems. In rare cases, psychedelics can cause seizures and induce psychosis in people with underlying mental health issues.
The country is currently seeing a surge in interest in the therapeutic use of psychedelics, and veterans are helping to win over conservative groups that have traditionally resisted legalization.
When one imagines a stereotypical psychedelics fan, they may picture a hippy wearing tie dyes who lives on a California commune and protests against war.
Veterans of the Army are a distinct demographic. Many are from the Midwest and South, have conservative views, and lean right. When communicating to both parties and assisting in the passage of bipartisan legislation, this can provide them with a strong voice.
Texas passed a VETS-sponsored law earlier this month, establishing a $50 million state fund for ibogaine drug development studies. This is the largest publicly funded psychedelic research program ever started by a government in the world. Rick Perry, a former governor of Texas and veteran of the Air Force, was one of the bill’s strongest supporters.
In a statement following the bill’s passing, Perry said, “I’ve heard the stories, studied the research, and looked these Veterans and warfighters in the eye. Men who returned from ibogaine treatment in Mexico healed and finally whole.” When all else failed to bring them calm, ibogaine did.
For hundreds of years, Indigenous people have utilized ibogaine, a hallucinogenic substance found in the root bark of a West African shrub, for both medicinal and spiritual purposes. It produces a powerful introspective psychedelic experience that, according to studies, can aid individuals in processing emotional anguish or trauma that underlies substance misuse or mental health issues.
After receiving ibogaine treatment, another soldier who took part in the Stanford study reported that his life changed in a matter of days.
I had no inclination to chew tobacco, drink, or consider suicide. Sean, who requested that his last name be omitted because of work-related issues, said, “I just felt whole again.”
After returning from Mexico, Sean also showed notable gains on tests of cognition and memory.
According to Kratter, the Stanford researcher, some studies have suggested that ibogaine might aid in brain healing by raising levels of chemicals known as trophic factors, which stimulate brain cells to form new connections.
“It might help the brain rewire itself in a healthier way if that’s how it works,” he said.
According to Kratter, the Stanford observational study’s findings were highly promising and call for larger controlled trials to replicate them.
Sean reported that three years after receiving ibogaine treatment, he is still sober and enjoys a great relationship with his family.
He remarked, “I became a bit of an evangelist for it because it’s lifesaving.” Six of the people I worked closely with in the military have taken their own lives. It would be enormous if we could spread the word and save lives.
