President Joe Biden has officially signed a large-scale defense bill that contains provisions to fund clinical trials into the therapeutic potential of psychedelics for active duty military service members.
The president signed the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law on Friday, about a week after Congress approved the final deal and sent it to his desk.
Advocates were encouraged to see that bicameral negotiators agreed to maintain the psychedelics research provisions championed by Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX) that were attached to the House version over the summer.
However, House negotiators receded on a separate section to create a medical cannabis pilot program for veterans. A Senate-passed provision to protect people from being denied security clearances due to past marijuana use was also left out of the final bill.
Now the psychedelics reform has been enacted, requiring the Department of Defense (DOD) to establish a process by which service members with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or traumatic brain injury could participate in clinical trials involving psilocybin, MDMA, ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT.
The list of covered psychedelics was also expanded to broadly include “qualified plant-based alternative therapies.”
DOD will need to facilitate that process within 180 days of enactment. It can partner with eligible federal or state government agencies, as well as academic institutions to carry out the clinical trials, with $10 million in funding.
Under the legislation as enacted, the defense secretary will need to provide lawmakers with a report within one year of the enactment, and every subsequent year for three years, with information about trial findings and participation.
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