Bipartisan Lawmakers Warn That Even One Mistake In Push For Psychedelics Access Could Derail Progress
Bipartisan congressional lawmakers are stressing the importance of strategically advancing psychedelics reform in a way that mitigates bureaucratic conflict and the influence of outside interests. Even just one misstep could threaten to upend the movement, they say.
At a public forum in Washington, D.C.—hosted by the Psychedelic Medicine Coalition (PMC) and Mission Within Foundation (MWF) last week—Reps. Lou Correa (D-CA), Jack Bergman (R-MI) and Morgan Luttrell (R-TX) spoke about the work ahead to provide access to psychedelics for patients.
Much of the focus centered around the need to give military veterans alternative treatment options for serious mental health conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Psychedelics like MDMA and ibogaine could help fill that gap, the legislators said.
Luttrell said a key challenge supporters are up against is the inaccessibility of data from private research institutions that could demonstrate the therapeutic efficacy of psychedelics—something that he argued would likely move the needle for members who are on the fence on the issue.
The congressman said he and colleagues have pressed agencies such as the Department of Defense (DOD), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) about the problem.
“How do you get inside those organizations, use the data to conduct research, push that out longitudinally and make changes that actually improve people’s lives?” he said they’ve asked of the agencies.
“When we talk about the effects of ibogaine, it’s amazing,” Luttrell, a veteran himself who has been open about his experience going abroad to use the psychedelic to treat conflict-related mental health conditions, said.
“The results of these medications are profound in the veteran community, and the very entities responsible for caring for our veterans are not moving on this,” he said. “So yes, there is a problem.”
“How do we fix it? We’re working on it every day, but the United States government keeps getting in its own way,” he said. “Until the day I leave, I will keep talking to my colleagues on the left, right and center—because they are trying to get this done. Make no mistake, this is a delicate lane we’re walking in. If we push hard and screw this up, it’s gone just like that.”
Correa, who alongside Bergman co-chairs the Congressional Psychedelics Advancing Therapies (PATH) Caucus, also slammed the government for dragging its feet on moving the issue forward given the prevalence of suicides within the veteran population.
Considering the relationship between mental illness and homelessness, substance misuse and other societal issues, the congressman said it’s unacceptable that more isn’t being done to promote psychedelics therapy to support those who stand to benefit from the novel drugs. And that makes it all the more impressive that lawmakers across the aisle on Capitol Hill are making incremental progress.
“To see what is before us today, I think, is nothing less than a miracle,” Correa said. “We’ve come up with a cure—a cure for a major challenge we have in society.”
But like the other panelists at the public forum, he added a word of caution: “We can’t mess it up.”
“We have to move forward very aggressively, because constituents need it. Our veterans needed it yesterday, not today. And again, I’m going to use the statistic: 20 to 40 lives lost to suicide every day. We’ve got to move,” he said.
Bergman, for his part, said that “if the system, if bureaucracies, compete against themselves, we have a problem.”
“What we face here as a legislative body is a series of bureaucratic silos built over time—silos that not only don’t know what’s happening in the others, but quietly compete for resources and funding so they can keep doing what that bureaucracy does,” he said. “Our role as members of Congress is to ensure that the natural competition—the healthy competition—exists where it should.”
“The challenge is bureaucracies competing for limited resources. It’s up to us, as the legislative branch, to pass good laws and fund appropriations that support research—to find better ways, breakthrough therapies, and actually implement them for the betterment of patients. The subtle part for us is making sure we don’t waste time and money unnecessarily competing within the government itself.”
Luttrell added that a “majority of members of the House of Representatives don’t know what this is,” referring to psychedelics therapy.
“For those who do, it’s very taboo,” he said. “We’ve had conversations with members of Congress who, not that long ago, were putting people in prison for this. That’s the history. And now here we are taking this stance—that’s not the case anymore.”
“As we talk with members of Congress, explain it, show them the numbers, show them the testimony and the results, some of them have an ‘aha’ moment. And that helps us move legislation,” the congressman said.
But again, he emphasized: “If we screw this up—if one member blows up on this—it’s gone.”
“Do you hear me? If one member of Congress absolutely goes off on this, we’re going to push a new low. That’s how dangerous this is,” Luttrell said. “If you’re not beating yourself against the wall saying this is the most profound medication on the planet that can literally change lives—especially under this cognitive umbrella and these addiction problems we have—then you’re missing it. It’s amazing. Literally amazing.”
Bergman agreed with his colleague’s broader point, saying “some of our fellow members are very risk-averse,” and that applies to psychedelics despite the growing bipartisanship around the issue.
“When you combine that with bureaucracies that are naturally risk-averse, you get one piece of the puzzle. But you also have to consider who loses—or feels like they lose—if we succeed and these breakthrough therapies move forward,” he said.
The congressman seemed to be hinting at the idea that special interests outside of the psychedelics space have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo of prohibition and research restrictions for the novel therapeutics.
“So you have natural opposition. I’m not going to name names, but it’s there—and they will try to influence the process. Most of us here are old enough to remember those cartoons where you had a little character on one shoulder whispering in your ear, and another character on the other shoulder whispering something else, trying to influence you.”
“That’s part of the reality you have to consider. Our role is more than a team effort. It’s about overcoming the concerns of people who don’t know, but want to give this a chance,” Bergman said, adding that he’s still “confident that we’re on the right path, especially with the research.”
“This is about perseverance over time. I’m not going to quit,” he said. “One by one, something is going to happen that creates an ‘aha’ moment for people who are on the fence right now—and that’s okay. We’ll get there. We just can’t quit. We have to keep moving forward.”
Other speakers at the event included MWF chief executive Jay Kopelman, PMC co-founder Melissa Lavasani and Crossroads Treatment Center founder Martín Polanco.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Pam Bondi recently missed a congressionally mandated deadline to issue guidelines for easing barriers to research on Schedule I substances such as marijuana and psychedelics.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), for its part, has separately finalized quotas for legal production of controlled substances in 2026—further raising the amount of certain psychedelics that can be made for research purposes this year.
Late last year, VA faced criticism after rejecting a grant application from an organization that helps connect veterans to programs abroad where they can receive psychedelic therapy to treat serious mental health conditions.
A former U.S. senator said recently that she’s personally spoken to the heads of both VA and HHS about the therapeutic potential of psychedelics like ibogaine—and both members of Trump’s cabinet were receptive to reform on the issue.
While former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) mentioned that Collins wasn’t especially familiar with psychedelics therapy before joining the Trump administration, the secretary has since become one of the most vocal proponents of advancing reform to facilitate access for veterans.
In July, for example, the VA secretary touted his role in promoting psychedelics access for veterans with serious mental health conditions, saying he “opened that door probably wider than most ever thought” was possible.
Image courtesy of CostaPPR.
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