The US Department of Defense is funding two studies in which 186 active-duty soldiers with PTSD will receive MDMA-assisted therapy starting next year. The research, mandated by the National Defence Authorization Act signed by former President Joe Biden in December 2023, aims to help service personnel process trauma and potentially extend their military careers.
Sean O'Keefe, deputy under secretary of war for personnel and readiness, is closely monitoring the studies. A new group of therapists from the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs will begin training in psychedelic-assisted therapy next week ahead of patient enrollment. The therapy involves guided sessions with MDMA, a euphoria-inducing drug, to help soldiers overcome traumatic stress.
Rick Doblin, founding president of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (Maps), which has helped bring MDMA-assisted therapy to the brink of federal approval, said: 'Helping people process trauma, whoever they are, is probably better than not.' He added that he does not feel morally conflicted working with active-duty soldiers, citing the nobility of self-sacrifice.
The funding follows an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on 18 April to accelerate psychedelic research and widen access, primarily for veterans. Trump noted that since 9/11, over 21 times more veteran lives have been lost to suicide than on the battlefield. However, concerns have been raised about potential misuse to improve combat readiness, with ethnobotanist Dennis McKenna warning it could be 'an abuse of psychedelics to use them to reconstruct people so that they can become more efficient killing machines.'
The two randomized placebo-controlled studies are being conducted at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and Emory University, with grants of $4.9 million each confirmed in February 2024. At Walter Reed, 91 military personnel will receive three MDMA doses over 10 months and will not be deployed during the study. Similar therapy is being explored in Ukraine, where Maps has trained 55 therapists, though MDMA-assisted therapy is not yet permitted there.
