House Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) have recently filed separate bills towards further advancing psychedelic research studies to active service members.
While it was AOC’s proposal which was finally made in order in the House Rules Committee for the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), its fate is still unclear. Nonetheless, several key senators have expressed interest in the matter, as Mia McCarthy reported on Bloomberg Government.
In Ocasio-Cortez’s words: “They are, I would argue, kind of collaborative amendments in a way,” referring to hers and Crenshaw’s proposals.
What AOC’s amendment addresses is the funding of a Department of Defense (DOD)-led study considering MDMA and psilocybin as therapeutic alternatives to opioid treatments for the military suffering from PTSD or traumatic brain injuries. This proposal builds on a prior provision attached to the bill calling for the DOD to study marijuana for that same purpose.
On his behalf, Crenshaw focused on the creation of a grant …
