With more than 1 in 5 American adults experiencing mental illness every year, mental health remains
one of the greatest healthcare challenges facing our nation. Despite significant advances in medicine,
many individuals continue to suffer from treatment–resistant depression, PTSD, anxiety, addiction, and
suicidality. This is especially true for many of our nation’s veterans who returned home carrying the
invisible wounds of military service.
For decades, researchers have explored the possibility of utilizing psychedelic compounds for
therapeutic potential. However, many of these compounds have long been classified as Schedule I
controlled substances, slowing research and limiting our understanding of their therapeutic potential.
Today, that is beginning to change.
I support the efforts of President Trump, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and the Department of
Health and Human Services to accelerate responsible research into promising psychedelic therapies.
Medicine advances by following the evidence, not by allowing long–held assumptions or politics to
determine what deserves scientific investigation.
The Data
The early data are compelling. Clinical studies and growing real world experience suggest that
psychedelic–assisted therapies may offer meaningful benefits for conditions such as treatment–
resistant depression, PTSD, addiction, end of life anxiety, and suicidal ideation. While additional
research is still needed, the results seen thus far are encouraging and warrant continued investment in
high quality clinical trials.
I have personally known individuals, including military veterans, who traveled outside the United
States because these therapies were unavailable to them here. Several have described the experience
as life–changing after years of exhausting conventional treatment options. While personal stories are
not a substitute for scientific evidence, they can point researchers toward therapies worthy of careful
study.
Potential Psychedelic Treatments
One medication already showing promise is ketamine. Classified as a hallucinogen, ketamine is legally
used in medicine and has become an important treatment option for carefully–selected patients.
Throughout my career, I have seen ketamine provide meaningful relief for patients suffering from
chronic pain, anxiety, PTSD, depression, and some of the chronic symptoms associated with Lyme
disease. Like any powerful medication, it requires appropriate patient selection and physician
oversight, but its success demonstrates that medicines capable of altering consciousness can also
provide significant therapeutic benefit.
Several other compounds are generating tremendous excitement within the medical and scientific
communities.
- Psilocybin, the active compound found in certain mushrooms, has shown promising results for treatment–resistant depression, major depressive disorder, anxiety associated with life–threatening illness, and addiction. Researchers believe it may work by enhancing neuroplasticity and helping patients break deeply ingrained patterns of negative thinking.
- MDMA, when used in conjunction with structured psychotherapy, has demonstrated
impressive results in clinical trials involving patients with severe PTSD, including many who had
not responded to traditional therapies. - Ibogaine, derived from the African shrub Tabernanthe iboga, is one of the most intriguing
compounds under investigation. Early research suggests it may have significant potential in
treating opioid and other substance use disorders, while also showing promise for PTSD and
traumatic brain injury. However, ibogaine also carries important cardiac risks and should only
be administered in carefully monitored medical settings. - DMT and Ayahuasca are also being studied for treatment of depression, PTSD, addiction, and
emotional trauma.
Although research is still in its early stages, these compounds continue to expand our understanding of
how the brain heals and adapts. Perhaps the most exciting discovery is that many of these therapies
appear to promote neuroplasticity, allowing the brain to form new neural connections and potentially
helping patients move beyond destructive patterns of thought and behavior. Rather than simply
masking symptoms, these therapies may help facilitate lasting psychological healing when combined
with comprehensive medical and psychological care.
Looking Forward
We should approach this emerging field with both optimism and scientific discipline. These therapies
are not appropriate for everyone, and we still need robust clinical trials to better define their safety
profiles, appropriate dosing, long term outcomes, and the patients most likely to benefit. But these
questions deserve answers through rigorous research rather than continued avoidance.
Throughout history, many medical breakthroughs were initially viewed with skepticism before science
ultimately demonstrated their value. Psychedelic medicine deserves the same fair evaluation.
If these therapies can reduce suicide, help veterans overcome PTSD, restore hope to patients with
severe depression, or provide new options for those battling addiction, we have a responsibility to
pursue the science with integrity, compassion, and an unwavering commitment to patient safety.
Our patients deserve nothing less.
In Health,
Dr. John Oertle
Chief Medical Officer