A new Senate bill is being filed that would promote research into the therapeutic potential psychedelics, aiming to create a new office in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that would advance the development innovative treatments for serious mental health conditions and assist in reviewing the scheduling status of drugs like psilocybin, ibogaine and MDMA.
The legislation—titled the “Veterans Health Administration Novel Therapeutics Preparedness Act”—is being sponsored by Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT). It would direct the VA to take steps to streamline studies into psychedelics and other emerging therapies, according to bill text obtained by Marijuana Moment.
This is one of the latest examples of congressional efforts to encourage scientific investigations into psychedelics, with a focus on military veterans with conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), treatment-resistant depression, substance use disorder, traumatic brain injury (TBI), chronic pain and more.
The bill is expected to be formally filed on Wednesday, according to a source familiar with the planning. Marijuana Moment reached out to Sheehy’s office for comment, but a representative was not immediately available.
“Emerging therapeutic interventions, including certain psychedelic-assisted therapies under evaluation by the Food and Drug Administration as of the date of the enactment of this Act, may
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