Two amendments related to cannabis and psychedelic research have been added to the Defense Bill

The House Rules Committee recently approved two amendments related to cannabis and psychedelics on September 23, which will then be discussed in full. Days later, on September 27, the House of Representatives approved the two amendments – Amendment No. 48 and Amendment No. 137 – for inclusion in H.R. 4365, and the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2024, respectively.

Amendment No. 48, sponsored by Texas Reps. Dan Crenshaw and Morgan Luttrell, would provide $15 million to the Department of Defense for clinical trials of psychedelic drugs. It was approved by voice vote with 240 votes in favor and 191 against.

The second amendment, Amendment No. 137, was sponsored only by Crenshaw and would require the Defense Health Agency (DHA) to submit a congressional report on how to provide options for active military members suffering from traumatic brain injury (TBI) and PTSD. It would also allow them to participate in clinical trials researching psychedelics through the Department of Veteran Affairs.

Luttrell spoke before the vote on Amendment No. 48, explaining how he “personally testified[s] on the benefits in the treatment of post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury and chronic traumatic encephalopathy through the use of psychedelic substances.”

Luttrell served as a SEAL for 14 years and survived a near-fatal helicopter crash in which he suffered a broken back and a traumatic brain injury. In June, Luttrell spoke candidly at a press event in the capital about using ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT to treat his injuries while introducing a federal grant proposal for psychedelic research. “If you’re in a place where you were lost and no other modalities were working, this could potentially be the right tool,” Luttrell said. “And I can honestly stand before all of you and the American public and say that I have been born again. That changed my life. It saved my marriage. It’s one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me.”

At the last hearing, Luttrell explained why the amendment should pass. “There is a stigma within [House] I believe this is due to a lack of educational experience regarding the clinical use of herbal or psychedelic medications,” Luttrell said. “I understand that when many of my colleagues hear the word ‘psychedelics’ they think of mushrooms and so on. We’re not talking about that today.”

“Unfortunately, stigma has resulted in slow or non-existent adoption of medical procedures that may have saved countless lives as well as our service members, veterans and first responders,” Luttrell continued. “It is our duty to explore all options when the lives of our nation’s most precious resources, our sons, our daughters, our mothers, our fathers, brothers and sisters, are at stake.”

Representative Betty McCollum spoke against Amendment No. 48, claiming that the DHA cannot realistically implement these measures due to current “permits, legal hurdles and logistics” and “reluctantly” refused support.

Crenshaw later spoke before Congress in support of Amendment No. 137 defending clinical trials of psychedelics, describing it as an important step forward. “…there is no reason why we should not address the benefits of this research to our men and women who are already actively serving our country,” Crenshaw said. “This is not about legalization. This is not about recreational use. This is about fulfilling our promise to our military families and addressing the high suicide rates in the military and veteran community.”

“We should listen to the stories. They showed up on Capitol Hill several times,” Crenshaw added. “For the members who say, ‘Well, we need to learn more.’ “We don’t know enough” – so why would you stand in the way of further research?” he asked. “We shouldn’t force them even more to come here and pour out their hearts. We should listen to them and act accordingly.”

The SAFER Banking Act passed the Senate Banking Committee on the same day these changes were approved in the House of Representatives. Seven previous versions of the bill (formerly called the “SAFE Banking Act”) have already passed Congress at various levels, most recently in December 2022, when it was not included in the defense spending bill.

Many lawmakers support passing the SAFER Banking Act to protect both financial institutions and cannabis companies. In a joint statement, Senators Jeff Merkley, Steve Daines, Kyrsten Sinema, Cynthia Lummis and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke together in support of the bill and its necessity. “This legislation will help make our communities and small businesses safer by providing legal cannabis businesses access to traditional financial institutions, including bank accounts and small business loans,” the joint statement said. “It also prevents federal banking regulators from ordering a bank or credit union to close an account based on reputational risk.”

On September 28, Schumer spoke about the next steps for the SAFER Banking Act. “The next step is to put SAFER Banking on the ballot, which I will do soon,” he said. “I have worked long and hard for years to get us to this point, and now the Senate is one step – a decisive step – closer to helping cannabis companies become more efficient in the states where cannabis is allowed to be sold. to operate more securely and transparently.”