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APPLE VALLEY, California – Jose Martinez, a former Army sniper whose right arm and both legs were blown off by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, has a new appeal: He’s become one of the most influential lobbyists in the therapeutic legalization campaign. nationwide psychedelic drug.

In a Zoom conversation this spring with Connie Leyva, a Democratic legislator who has long opposed relaxed drug laws in California, Mr. Martinez told him how psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient in “magic” mushrooms, eventually helped quell physical pain and suicide. thoughts that tortured him.

Ms. Leyva said that she had changed her mind before the end of the meeting and later voted yes on the bill, which is expected to become law early next year.

“We ask these men and women to fight for our freedoms,” she said in an interview. “So if it’s something that will help them live a more normal life, I feel like I shouldn’t get in the way.”

In the two years since Oregon, Washington, DC and half a dozen municipalities decriminalized psilocybin, veterinarians have become leading advocates for the legalization of psychedelic medicine. it often depends on their experience in the military.

The campaign was bolstered by the epidemic of suicides among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, as well as the national showdown over the mass incarceration on drug charges, which softened the public’s stance on the ban.

More than 30,000 soldiers have committed suicide in the years since 9/11 — four times the number The death toll on the battlefield – and the Department of Veterans Affairs – has struggled to address the crisis with the traditional repertoire of pharmacological interventions.

The recent US withdrawal from Afghanistan may have marked the end of America’s “endless war”, but the psychological collapse of two decades of military conflict continues to resonate with many of the 1.9 million personnel serving overseas.

“I wouldn’t say no to anything that keeps people from killing themselves,” said Mr Martinez.

Jesse Gould, a former Army Ranger Hero Hearts ProjectAn organization that connects veterans to psychedelic therapies available in Latin America is also measuring desperation in the daily barrage of emails it receives from vets seeking help.

The waiting list for a treatment slot stretches to 850 people, he said.

“The federal healthcare system has failed us, which is why veterans need to seek care outside the country,” he said. “They’re turning to psychedelic options in droves so we can decide to label these veterans as criminals, as we’ve already done, or make sure they can get effective care here at home.”

Recent studies have bolstered anecdotal calculations of benefit and helped to measure the therapeutic value of substances such as LSD, psilocybin, and MDMA, the drug more commonly known as Ecstasy. a study Nature Medicine He found that pairing MDMA with counseling provided significant relief for patients with severe PTSD. in another New England Journal of Medicine highlighted the potential of psilocybin therapy for the treatment of severe depression.

Although current federal law largely prohibits the medical use of these compounds, researchers MDMA-assisted speech therapy get approval from the Food and Drug Administration within the next year or two, followed by psilocybin, which has already received agency approval shortly thereafter. “Breakthrough therapy” for severe depression. FDA in 2019 esketamine approved, a nasal spray derived from the anesthetic ketamine for treatment-resistant depression. The off-label use of ketamine for depression has also become increasingly popular.

Kevin Matthews, a military veteran leading 2019 ballot in Denver Personal testimonies about psychedelic therapy with decriminalizing psilocybin mushrooms—the first U.S. city to do so—are crucial in winning over skeptics who worry that decriminalization will increase recreational use.

“The key to doing that is getting the right people in front of the right constituencies,” he said.

Decriminalization advocates have made remarkable progress over the past two years. Last month Seattle embraces decriminalization psilocybin and other plant-based psychoactive drugs, and Michigan and several other cities around the country are poised to do the same.

But as psychedelics gain acceptance among mental health professionals, even enthusiastic supporters of decriminalization are recognizing the potential dangers of doing so without adequate regulation or professional guidance. Overdoses are rare and the compounds are not considered addictive, but experts stress the importance of the companion drug trips provided. case reports about adverse reactions among people with serious conditions such as schizophrenia.

At first glance, former military personnel may seem like potential champions of the illegal, mind-altering drugs many Americans associate with the counterculture pacifists of the 1960s and 1970s. But veterans have become powerful ambassadors for psychedelics across the political spectrum.

Juliana Mercer, a Marine Corps veteran from San Diego who helps connect former service members to psychedelic therapies, says lobbying efforts are particularly helpful to Republican legislators who nurture anti-drug attitudes but have high regard for veterans.

“It helps that I’m not a stereotypical hippie who does LSD for fun,” she said. “But I think our voices are effective because we put our lives on the line for our country and we need recovery after 20 years of war because nothing has worked so far.”

Recent converts include former Texas Republican governor Rick Perry, who returned to the State Capitol earlier this year to join Democratic lawmakers promoting a bill to allow a clinical trial of psilocybin. NS invoice passed In June it became both a legislature and a law.

Mr. Perry declined an interview request, but during an interview News Conference In April, he said his transformation from an anti-drug stalwart to a champion of psychedelic therapies was inspired by his personal relationship with a war veteran who turned to opioids to cope with his PTSD.

United States Representative Dan Crenshaw, a Texas Republican and former Navy SEAL who has consistently opposed efforts to relax drug laws in Congress, also changed his mind after hearing from veterans. In September, it passed an amendment to a defense spending bill that would allow the Pentagon to fund psychedelics research. The change, however, failed to emerge from a House rules committee.

It is not without controversy that the legalization campaign focuses on veterinarians as its leading advocates. Carlos Plazola, co-founder of the advocacy group Decriminalize natureHe said he was disappointed with the movement’s overemphasis on soldiers’ struggles. He said a wider segment of people of color should hear about his experiences.

“We understand the value of pushing patriotism and putting the American flag in front of the parade, if you will, but if we are to be successful we also need to talk about Black, brown and the traumas of Asians and Natives. communities,” he said.

Still, military veterans have proven to be effective messengers. Former Army Ranger Mr. Gould started Heroic Hearts shortly after embarking on his first psychedelic journey in Peru with ayahuasca, a plant-derived, hallucinogenic beer. extraordinary promise in the treatment of various psychological disorders.

Mr Gould said the traumatic brain injury caused by the many rocket launches he oversaw during three deployments in Afghanistan left him with uncontrolled spasms of anger and anxiety. He said that healthy romantic relationships are out of the question.

He said of the Ayahuasca retreat, “It combined my brain in a healing way,” adding that his new mind made it possible for him to meet the woman who would later become his wife. “Absolutely saved my life.”

Researchers are still trying to understand the mechanics of psychedelic-assisted therapies, but it’s commonly thought to promote physiological changes in the brain, sometimes after just one session. On a psychological level, drugs can provide patients with new tools to process pain and find inner peace, providing fresh insight into seemingly intractable traumas.

Martinez, a former Army sniper wounded in Afghanistan, has become a particularly influential evangelist for psychedelics. He endured 19 surgeries and the endless pain that made him addicted to opioids. Beneath the physical suffering was an unaddressed wound: childhood abuse at the hands of a relative.

“For a long time I didn’t understand why I was so angry with the world,” said Mr Martinez, 33, who grew up in south Los Angeles and lives with his wife on the edge of the Mojave Desert. Psilocybin, he said, changed everything. Despite still grappling with constant pain, the “journeys” he takes while taking the drug allow him to step outside of himself and focus on the good and what’s possible in life, which has recently included Paralympic surfer, archer and sidelines as weights. education enthusiast. He also runs a nonprofit that aims to connect veterans with nature through wilderness excursions.

“Psychedelics helped me realize that my problems are small compared to the bigger problems of the world like hunger and cancer,” she said. “And now I understand what I’m actually here for in this world, which is to make people smile and remind them that life can be beautiful even if it’s not that easy.”