A large-scale defense bill that contains provisions to fund studies into the therapeutic use of psychedelics such as psilocybin and MDMA for military service members is officially heading to President Joe Biden’s desk.
Days after bicameral negotiators announced they’d reached an agreement on the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the Senate passed it on Wednesday and the House concurred on Thursday, sending it to the president.
Advocates were encouraged to see that the final deal maintained psychedelics research provisions championed by Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX) that were attached to the House version over the summer. However, House negotiators receded on a separate section to create a medical cannabis pilot program for veterans.
The adopted psychedelics section, meanwhile, would require the Department of Defense (DOD) to establish a process by which service members with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or traumatic brain injury could participate in clinical trials involving psilocybin, MDMA, ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT. The list of covered psychedelics was also expanded to broadly include “qualified plant-based alternative therapies.”
DOD would need to facilitate that process within 180 days of enactment. It could partner with eligible federal or state government agencies, as well as academic institutions to carry out the clinical
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