By Robert Brodsky (source)

Long Island drug treatment experts contend Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s plan to green light psychedelic drugs for therapeutic purpose is dangerous and irresponsible, while veterans’ advocates argue the initiative could provide relief to those struggling with PTSD and depression.

Last month, Kennedy told a congressional panel that the administration was fast-tracking clinical trials that would allow patients struggling with serious mental health issues to be treated with psychedelics such as MDMA, known as ecstasy or molly.

"These are people who badly need some kind of therapy; nothing else is working for them," Kennedy told House lawmakers. "This line of therapeutics has tremendous advantage if given in a clinical setting. And we are working very hard to make sure that happens within 12 months."

'People will get better'

Last year, then-President Joe Biden's Food and Drug Administration rejected MDMA as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), citing what they described as flawed study data, questionable research and potential drug risks, including heart problems.

WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND

• Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told lawmakers last month that the administration was fast-tracking clinical trials for psychedelics to help patients struggling with mental health issues
• Long Island drug treatment experts said the strategy was "irresponsible" and could provide false hope for those struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression.
• Veterans advocates argue that allowing doctors and clinicians to prescribe psychedelics will reduce the high rate of suicides among former members of the armed services.

But Kennedy has been more open to alternative forms of therapeutics as head of the nation's largest public health agency. Results from early government studies at the Department of Veterans Affairs, he said, were "very, very encouraging."

Marcus Capone, who served multiple combat tours as a Navy SEAL and grew up in Long Beach, said allowing doctors and clinicians to prescribe psychedelics will save the lives of veterans struggling with trauma.

"This will significantly reduce the suicide rate, not just in the U.S., but across the world," said Capone, who founded VETS, a Texas-based nonprofit that helps facilitate psychedelic-assisted therapies for service members. "People will get better. Families will stay together. Generations will be healed. Every day we wait, individuals are going to take their lives, families are going to be broken and generations are going to be ruined."

Capone, after struggling for years with the effects of traumatic brain injury and PTSD, and seeing little relief from therapy and prescription treatment, turned to ibogaine, the psychoactive component of the iboga plant used for centuries in spiritual ceremonies because of its hallucinogenic properties. Capone said he found himself healed of all symptoms.

A 2024 study by Stanford Medicine found ibogaine, which is classified by the FDA as a Schedule 1 controlled substance and is prohibited for use in the United States, effectively treated traumatic brain injuries among 30 U.S. special operations forces veterans who received the drug at a laboratory in Mexico.

But Long Island drug treatment experts contend ibogaine and other hallucinogens provide false hope for those struggling with PTSD, anxiety and depression.

Steve Chassman, executive director of the Long Island Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence, described medically-prescribed psychedelics as "terribly irresponsible." He worries that Long Islanders — many still recovering from the opioid crisis — will misuse and abuse the treatment, and potentially trigger severe psychological conditions.

"Our veterans and our citizens deserve better than once formally illicit drugs," Chassman said. "They deserve best-in-evidence-based treatment modalities, through talk therapy, behavioral therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. The problem is ... some of the treatment of these disorders take time. They take investment, not just on the part of the patient or the client, but on the part of the therapist and insurance companies."

Healing takes time

While individuals who take psychedelics can have a spiritual or psychological experience, Chassman fears that once the "trip" wears off, the patient will fail to have learned any real-world coping strategies.

"People don't get sick overnight, and sometimes they don't get better overnight," he said.

In a statement, a Health and Human Services spokeswoman said the "department shares the goal of ensuring that all Americans — especially our nation’s veterans — have access to safe and effective treatments for conditions such as PTSD, addiction, and depression. Secretary Kennedy is committed to applying rigorous, evidence-based science to research efforts aimed at addressing these serious health challenges."

Patrick Donohue of Islip, a veterans attorney and advocate with Project 9 Line, which helps former military members transition back to civilian life, said embracing psychedelics is long overdue.

"It's an inside-out job healing from trauma. Nothing external is going to help us heal," Donohue said. "These substances allow us to begin the foundational process of healing. For some it's instant, and then never again. Symptoms gone forever. You can't even make it up. There's no pharmaceutical equivalent. None."

Details of what conditions would qualify for psychedelic treatment, and who would be allowed to legally prescribe the drugs and in what setting, were not immediately clear.

While Washington considers these questions, some states are already moving forward with similar initiatives.

Oregon and Colorado have already legalized psychedelic therapy while Texas approved a $50 million study of ibogaine as a treatment for opioid addiction, PTSD and other conditions.

Jeffrey Reynolds, president and chief executive of the Garden City-based Family & Children’s Association, which provides drug treatment services, said the process should slow down and focus on the science.

"Additional studies make sense, but this rush, led by nonscientists, is disconcerting given the lack of research data about psychedelics, the mixed experiences of users and the fact that the administration is firing staff at [Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration] and cutting Medicaid benefits in a way that could limit access to drug treatment," he said. "I hope we don’t land in a place where psychedelics become a replacement for more comprehensive care that’s based on science."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.