Bipartisan Senate Push Builds Toward Psychedelic Therapy for Veterans as Clinical Evidence Mounts
Two bipartisan Senate bills would create a VA Office of Novel Therapeutics and fund psychedelic research centers, while states enact their own laws and Phase 3 trials advance.
Overview
A bipartisan coalition of military veterans serving in the U.S. Senate has introduced two separate bills aimed at preparing the Department of Veterans Affairs for a new generation of psychedelic-assisted mental health treatments. The Veterans Health Administration Novel Therapeutics Preparedness Act, introduced on March 27, 2026, would create a dedicated Office of Novel Therapeutics within the VA to develop clinical standards, train staff, and coordinate with federal agencies ahead of anticipated FDA approvals. A companion measure, the Innovative Therapies Centers of Excellence Act, would direct $30 million annually to establish at least five VA research centers focused on MDMA, psilocybin, ibogaine, and DMT.
The legislative push arrives as the VA conducts its first psychedelic-assisted therapy study since the 1960s, multiple Phase 3 clinical trials approach key data readouts, and a growing number of states move to authorize their own psychedelic research programs.
What We Know
The Novel Therapeutics Preparedness Act is led by Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT), a former Navy SEAL, with co-sponsors Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), a Marine Corps veteran, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), an Army National Guard veteran, and Sen. John Boozman (R-AR), who chairs the MilConVA Appropriations Committee. The bill would require the VA to submit a national preparedness strategy to Congress within 180 days, followed by annual reports on clinical outcomes and safety. It would also designate medical centers as “centers of excellence” for research and training, establish a Veteran Advisory Committee to address informed consent and patient safety, and create patient candidacy guidance designed to prevent “fail-first” treatment protocols that force veterans to exhaust conventional options before accessing new therapies.
The Innovative Therapies Centers of Excellence Act, sponsored by Sens. Gallego and Dave McCormick (R-PA), takes a more direct research approach. It would fund at least five geographically distributed VA facilities to study psychedelic-assisted therapy for conditions including PTSD, depression, anxiety, substance use disorder, chronic pain, and bipolar disorder. Each center would be required to partner with accredited medical schools and submit findings to a national data repository. The legislation has the backing of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) and Disabled American Veterans (DAV).
These bills represent the fourth and fifth psychedelics-related measures introduced in the current congressional term, alongside the stalled Booker-Paul “Freedom to Heal Act” and state-level initiatives.
Clinical Trials Advancing
The scientific foundation supporting these legislative efforts continues to strengthen. The VA in late 2024 awarded approximately $1.5 million to fund MDMA-assisted therapy research at the Providence VA Medical Center and West Haven VA Medical Center, conducted by researchers affiliated with Brown University and Yale University, according to VA News. The study targets veterans with co-occurring PTSD and alcohol use disorder, and enrollment was anticipated to begin in early 2026. Nine regional VA facilities are now participating in multi-year psychedelic clinical studies.
In the private sector, MindMed’s MM120 (lysergide D-tartrate) is in two pivotal Phase 3 trials for generalized anxiety disorder. The Voyage study, the first-ever Phase 3 trial of LSD for any condition, is expected to deliver topline data in the first half of 2026. A Phase 2b trial published in JAMA showed that a single 100-microgram dose of MM120 reduced anxiety scores by 5.0 points on the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale compared to placebo, with the 200-microgram dose achieving a 6.0-point reduction. Cybin’s CYB003, a deuterated psilocybin analog, holds an FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation for major depressive disorder and has initiated its Phase 3 PARADIGM program, with topline data from the APPROACH study expected in late 2026.
State-Level Momentum
States are not waiting for federal action. Utah enacted HB 390 on March 4, 2026, authorizing the Huntsman Mental Health Institute at the University of Utah to conduct clinical trials on psilocybin, MDMA, and DMT for veterans with treatment-resistant PTSD. New Jersey signed a $6 million psilocybin research appropriation into law in January 2026. Missouri’s House passed a bill in early April to study psilocybin therapy for veterans and first responders. Massachusetts advanced psychedelic research pilot legislation through committee in March, and Colorado is reviewing an ibogaine research pilot under its House Appropriations Committee.
This follows earlier reporting by The Machine Herald on Texas committing $50 million to the largest state-funded ibogaine clinical trial, underscoring the breadth of state-level investment.
What We Don’t Know
Whether these federal bills can clear both chambers remains uncertain. While bipartisan sponsorship from veteran-legislators lends political weight, the broader regulatory landscape is mixed. STAT News reported in February 2026 that Trump administration officials blocked the FDA’s plan to fast-track a psilocybin treatment for severe depression, revealing tension between allies of the psychedelic therapy movement within the administration and those favoring a more cautious approach. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary has spoken favorably about psychedelics for veterans, and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. declared that the FDA’s “aggressive suppression of psychedelics” was ending, according to STAT News. Yet the FDA rejected Lykos Therapeutics’ MDMA application for PTSD in August 2024, citing concerns about trial design and functional unblinding.
The timing of potential FDA approvals is also unclear. MindMed’s Phase 3 data could arrive within months, and Cybin’s results are expected later in the year, but pivotal trial success does not guarantee approval. The question of whether the VA’s existing infrastructure can absorb these therapies at scale, including training thousands of clinicians in psychedelic-assisted protocols, remains one of the central challenges the proposed legislation seeks to address.
Analysis
The convergence of federal legislation, state-level action, and maturing clinical data represents the most significant institutional commitment to psychedelic therapy in the United States since these substances were placed on Schedule I over fifty years ago. The framing of psychedelic therapy as a veterans’ health issue has proven politically durable, uniting lawmakers across party lines who might otherwise disagree on drug policy. The bills’ emphasis on preparation rather than legalization reflects a pragmatic strategy: building the clinical and administrative infrastructure now so that the VA is not caught unprepared if and when FDA approvals arrive.