Tag: veterans

Trump’s Veterans Secretary Had ‘Eye-Opening’ Psychedelics Talk With RFK Jr.—And He Plans To Press Congress To Act

The head of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) says he had an “eye-opening” talk with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Trump administration’s top federal health official, about the therapeutic potential of psychedelic medicine. And he intends to press Congress to take action on the issue.

VA Secretary Doug Collins, a former Republican congressman, also said during an interview on the Shawn Ryan Show that was posted this week that he’s open to the idea of having the government provide vouchers to cover the costs of psychedelic therapy for veterans who receive services outside of VA as Congress considers pathways for access.

Collins noted that VA has already been conducting clinical trials into the therapeutic use of psychedelics for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI), and the initial results show it’s “working,” with “tremendous change” among participants.

The secretary said he and Kennedy, the health and human services secretary, “sat in my office two weeks ago and talked about this very issue,” including how to navigate the regulatory and bureaucratic barriers to freeing up funds to support psychedelics access.

“Because we’re actually a hospital, a healthcare organization, we’re bound by some of the laws that Congress has made that have bound us into what we can use and what we can’t use,” he said, adding that marijuana is a “big example” of an alternative therapy that VA isn’t able to provide under current law.

“You’ve had a lot of congressmen say, ‘We’re not gonna do that. We’re gonna keep it where it’s at’” under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). “And so that it binds us a little bit.”

Asked for details about his conversation with the HHS secretary, Collins said it was “eye-opening because, of course he is very ‘Make America Healthy Again—getting the food additives out, getting those kind of stuff.”

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Iowa Lawmakers Unanimously Approve Bill To Create Psilocybin Program That Would Treat Up To 5,000 Patients With PTSD

An Iowa House committee has unanimously approved a Republican-led proposal to create a state-regulated therapeutic psilocybin program for adults with PTSD.

The bill, HF 620, from Rep. John Wills (R), passed the House Ways and Means Committee on a 23–0 vote at a hearing Thursday.

If enacted into law, it would allow up to 5,000 patients in the state to legally access psilocybin produced in-state by licensed entities. Administration sessions would need to be supervised by registered facilitators—mostly medical professionals—who would need to complete state-specified psilocybin education.

Psilocybin providers would need to be doctors, advanced nurse practitioners, advanced practice nurses, psychologists or social workers who complete psilocybin continuing education requirements, register with the state and pay a registration fee.

Administration sessions themselves would need to be at registered clinical locations and would need to be video recorded. Those records would need to be available for inspection by state officials upon request.

The psilocybin itself would be produced by state-licensed establishments. Local governments could not outright ban those facilities, nor could they deny them appropriate licenses based merely on the fact that psilocybin violates federal law.

Notably, a licensed psilocybin production facility could be co-located with one of the state’s few licensed medical cannabis producers—known in Iowa as medical cannabidiol producers—and the bill says regulators may grant psilocybin licensing preferences to those existing cannabis producers. Facilities couldn’t be located within 1,000 feet of a community location or 500 feet of a residential area.

Only people 21 and older and without “a misdemeanor for drug distribution or any felony” could work at psilocybin producers, and licensees themselves would face background checks.

Up to four independent testing labs could be licensed under the bill, and the state could also establish its own lab.

License applications would be accepted beginning July 1, 2026.

To oversee the system, the legislation would create a state Psilocybin Production Establishment Licensing Board under the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Appointed by the director of that department, the board would include a member of the public with knowledge of psilocybin, a member with knowledge and experience in the pharmaceutical or nutraceutical manufacturing industry, a law enforcement member, a university chemist or researcher with experience in manufacturing, a member who has a background in fungus or mushroom cultivation and processing.

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It’s Not Just Joe Biden – Barack Obama Used Autopen and Form Letters When He Sent Condolences to Families of Fallen Soldiers

As reported earlier, the intrepid investigators at the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight project, led by longtime investigator Mike Howell, has compared the Biden signatures on nearly every document from his administration.

They discovered that it’s obvious that Biden never actually signed anything himself.

And they suggest that it’s possible Biden didn’t even know what was being signed on his behalf.

The rate of identical signatures indicates that the entire Presidency operated with the use of a staffer applying either the automatic pen to a document, or by using a saved image on a computer affixing Biden’s consent to something he may have been unable or unwilling to consent to.

Biden’s Chief of Staff was Ron Klain, and then Jeff Zients. Klain now works for AirBNB. Zients was a former board member of Facebook. Both had ties to Obama and the disastrous governmental response to COVID.

But it wasn’t just Joe Biden.

Barack Obama used an autopen to sign condolence letters to families of fallen soldiers and he used the same form letter for each family.

The Gateway Pundit discovered this back in 2012 when we were talking to the families of the SEAL Team 6 members who were shot down by the Taliban after the death of Osama bin Laden.

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Missouri Senators Approve Bill To Legalize Psilocybin Therapy For Veterans And Sex Trafficking Survivors

Missouri senators have advanced a bill to allow military veterans and survivors of sex trafficking who have certain mental health conditions to legally access psilocybin therapy.

The Senate Families, Seniors and Health Committee approved the legislation from Sen. Stephen Webber (D) on Wednesday. A similar House bill focused on the psychedelic moved through a separate panel earlier this month.

In addition to being 21 or older, a military veteran or sex trafficking survivor and enrolled in a clinical trial, participants in the proposed program would need to have PTSD, major depressive disorder, a substance use disorder or be in end-of-life care.

They would also need to provide documentation to the state Department of Mental Health about the treating physician, facilitator and location and time of use.

Further, use of psilocybin would be limited to 150 mg during a 12-month period.

The bill also authorizes the state Department of Health to provide up to $3 million worth of grants to support research on the therapeutic potential of psilocybin.

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Ohio veteran calls for change after being denied heart transplant over vaccine refusal

Ken Long, a 54-year-old veteran from Eaton, has been denied a heart transplant at Christ Hospital due to his refusal to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Long, who was diagnosed with congestive heart failure nearly a year ago, believes the decision is based on his vaccination status.

“When I decide something, I mean it, and if it takes dying, it’s what it is,” Long said. “They don’t know enough about it, and plus it’s already done a lot of damage. People have said blood clots. There are no cardiac issues and our personal religious rights.”

Initially, Long’s wife, Christina, disagreed with his decision.

“It’s my husband. I don’t want to lose my husband,” Christina said. “In the moment, you’re just overwhelmed, and you want to do anything you can to save somebody’s life, and then I had to regroup myself. It’s his right.”

Long now relies on a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) to pump blood to his heart.

“I can hardly do anything. If the power goes out, I have to worry about my batteries and my charger,” Long said. “You can’t get wet, so showering is an issue.”

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Military Veterans Groups Push Congress To Expedite Psychedelics Research And Support Medical Marijuana Access

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) should continue to explore psychedelics and medical marijuana therapy and expedite access to such alternative treatments if they’re proven to be efficacious, representatives of leading veterans service organizations (VSOs) told members of Congress this week.

One key group testified that the scheduling of substances like cannabis, psilocybin and MDMA as Schedule I drugs is a “major barrier” to therapeutic access.

At joint hearings before the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees on Tuesday and Wednesday, lawmakers took testimony from the VSOs—and one theme that emerged was the need to support research and access for marijuana and psychedelics, particularly as it concerns VA.

Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI), co-chair of the Congressional Psychedelics Advancing Therapies (PATH) Caucus, asked Disabled American Veterans (DAV) National Commander Daniel Contreras what role he felt VA should play in “advancing the promising field in that area of [psychedelic] medicine through research.”

Contreras said it’s DAV’s position that “we should look at alternatives.” He added that he’s personally familiar with the issue in part because psilocybin has been incorporated into his own wife’s therapy, which underscores for him that “there needs to be some alternative choices.”

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Missouri Lawmakers Consider Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy To Aid Military Veterans With PTSD

In hopes of helping veterans facing mental health issues, Missouri lawmakers are once again pushing legislation that would require the state to conduct a study on using psilocybin—also known as “magic mushrooms”—to treat depression, substance use or as part end-of-life care.

Similar legislation has been filed for the last three years, and in 2023 the House voted overwhelmingly in support of the idea. But it’s never made its way to the Senate.

On Monday, several members of the House Veterans Committee said they were staunchly against the proposal when they first heard about it. However, research the committee has explored over the years has changed their minds.

That includes studies done by psychiatry researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, who were the first in Missouri to give a legal dose of psilocybin in 2019.

They have been using a brain-imaging technique to learn how psilocybin affects certain networks in the brain.

The bill’s sponsor, Republican state Rep. Richard West of Wentzville, said he was skeptical at first, as a former police officer.

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WHISTLEBLOWER: Should the New VA Secretary Remove a ‘Fraudulent SOP Note,’ Every Service Member Injured by the Once-Mandated COVID-19 Shot Could be Compensated

With bipartisan support in 2022, the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act pledged compensation for veterans exposed to toxic substances like burn pits and hazardous chemicals. Two years later, the act was cited for contributing to a historic budget shortfall with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

With millions of veterans’ benefits at risk, Congress has been compelled to take action.

Most recently, according to a February 5 press release from the office of Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), “[Legislation is being offered] to establish greater accountability and oversight of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) after a stunning multi-billion-dollar budget shortfall in 2024 followed by a multi-billion-dollar surplus two months later.”

The member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee (SVAC) and 10 additional senators introduced the Protecting Regular Order (PRO) for Veterans Act to address the “budget debacle.”

As noted by the press release, “The Pro VETS Act will institute a three-year requirement for the VA to provide quarterly, in-person budget reports to Congress to encourage greater oversight and financial accountability, and also withhold bonuses for senior VA and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) personnel if there are future financial shortfalls.”

In an attempt to deflect blame away from mismanagement last year, the agency was quick to cite the PACT Act as the key driver of the budget shortfall. VA Press Secretary Terrence Hayes said, “Right now, due in large part to the historic PACT Act, VA is delivering more care and more benefits to more veterans than ever before.”

For many veterans, like Fleeman and Navy veteran Dr. Crisanna Shackelford, accountability and transparency are required of an agency running itself into the ground.

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VA Whistleblower Exposes Widespread Hospital Corruption During COVID-19

Shane Claytor, a former Navy Corpsman, Iraq War Veteran, and ICU nurse, has worked inside both the VA and private healthcare systems. Shane has seen firsthand how hospital policies, corporate interests, and government mandates have compromised patient care. In this interview, Shane reveals:

  • The stark contrast between private hospitals and the VA system during the early days of COVID-19, including the lack of preparedness in private facilities and the bureaucratic dysfunction in government-run hospitals.
  • The suppression of dissent within the VA, where speaking out against questionable policies—such as excessive isolation, improper use of ventilators, and the sidelining of early treatment options—led to retaliation, including an investigation that sidelined him for seven months.
  • The failures of COVID-19 protocols, including the widespread use of remdesivir, which he and other healthcare professionals observed was linked to kidney failure. He compares outcomes at the VA, where the drug was heavily administered, to other hospitals that used it more sparingly and saw far fewer complications.
  • The toxic culture within healthcare institutions, where unvaccinated patients were stigmatized, and doctors failed to physically assess COVID-19 patients, relying instead on remote decision-making, which harmed patient care.
  • His personal journey of witnessing the effects of government mandates, corporate influence, and media-driven misinformation, leading him to advocate for healthcare reform and transparency in medical protocols.
  • His advocacy for VA healthcare reform, as he believes the system is deeply flawed and requires urgent intervention, especially with potential policy shifts under a new administration.

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Biden’s dishonorable treatment of service members – napping during ceremonies intended to honor the fallen – follows a pattern of incompetence and disrespect throughout his time in office

In a shocking display of contempt for our nation’s brave service members, President Joe Biden has once again proven himself unfit as Commander-in-Chief and a disgrace to the nation. This despicable incident, during which Biden forced grieving families to wait for hours while he napped on Air Force One, is just one of many instances that underscores the utter disrespect and callousness with which he has treated those who have given so much for this country.

Biden slept for hours on Air Force One, while families of fallen soldiers waited for hours in disgust

On August 26, 2021, as Taliban terrorists attacked Kabul International Airport, claiming the lives of 13 American soldiers and over 170 Afghans, the Biden regime embarked on one of its most disastrous decisions: a hasty and disorganized withdrawal from Afghanistan. The chaos that followed was only exacerbated by the administration’s utter incompetence and disregard for American lives.

At the height of this humanitarian crisis, Biden’s actions were nothing short of abhorrent. As the families of the fallen soldiers waited to receive their loved ones’ remains, the President himself was fast asleep on a plane, even after being informed of their grievous loss. Multiple family members reported being made to wait for hours—their anguish compounded by the President’s apparent indifference.

Roice McCollum, sister of fallen Marine Rylee McCollum, described the scene with a sense of disbelief and anger. “He made us wait an extra three hours to receive the bodies of our dead family members because he couldn’t pull it together,” she said, referring to Biden’s reported nap. Darin Hoover, father of Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover, echoed this sentiment, saying, “We sat in that office for what seemed like an eternity waiting on the doddering old fool.”

The President’s failure to show proper respect for these families extends beyond this particular incident. Biden’s infamous behavior at the dignified transfer ceremony, where he was caught checking his watch, was a further insult to the memories of the soldiers. This behavior, combined with his reported nap, paints a picture of a President who is more concerned with his personal comfort than with the solemnity of the moment.

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