A prominent American researcher believes that psychedelic drugs can effectively treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She wants the government to let her test her theory.
“Initially, I discouraged them and rolled my eyes thinking about it,” remarked Dr. Sue Sisley, whose training taught her to view only approved drugs as medicines. “I lacked sympathy for their claims and thought they were drug seekers.”
But over time, Sisley saw how the ineffectiveness of mental-health treatments could fuel hopelessness. Currently, an average of seventeen U.S. military veterans die by suicide daily.
She initially focused on marijuana. “I was very misled, by the government and our training programs, to believe that cannabis was dangerous,” she says. “I didn’t learn about any medical benefits.”
But in 2021, Sisley’s team found that participants who smoked cannabis showed improvement over the placebo group. Encouraged by the results, she quickly filed an application to farm psilocybin-producing mushrooms. Now, Sisley wants to lead the world’s first FDA-approved study of whole mushrooms containing psilocybin.
“Once you get to know her, you realize there’s no outside agenda,” a colleague remarked. “That’s the magic with Sue.”
The Need for Combat-Related PTSD Drugs
Dr. Sisley’s initial misconceptions about PTSD are very common. In the minds of many, the d-word (“disorder”) indicates that a condition is largely psychosomatic or otherwise not a real injury. For example, if Frank claims he has intermittent explosive disorder (IED), his wife might say that Frank simply has a bad temper.
Despite this prejudice, which many doctors and other medical professionals believe, PTSD is a physical injury. Extreme stress, such as combat stress, alters the brain’s chemical composition. The alteration enlarges the amygdala, which is the part of the brain that controls emotional responses. As a result, the hippocampus (logical responses) shrinks.
Picture the classic devil on the shoulder and angel on the shoulder image. If Frank sees a box of donuts at a morning meeting, the devil (amygdala) tells him to eat to his heart’s content. The angel (hippocampus) tells him to save all those delicious pastries for someone else.
Normally, these voices are roughly the same. But in a PTSD-altered mind, the devil’s voice is so strong that it’s irresistible.
To eliminate this prejudice for combat-related PTSD victims, in the early 2000s, the Canadian Armed Forces began using operational stress injury (OSI) to describe this condition. OSI victims are eligible for the equivalent of a Purple Heart.
Since PTSD has a chemical cause, it has a chemical solution. But as outlined below, current PTSD drugs treat the symptoms, but not the cause of those symptoms.
Combat-related PTSD has been an issue for centuries, yet doctors refused to believe it was a physical injury. PTSD in the American Civil War is a good example. Doctors often diagnosed soldiers struggling with depression, flashbacks, anxiety, and other classic PTSD symptoms with nostalgia, or an advanced case of homesickness. According to them, the remedy for this condition (participation in a vigorous offensive campaign) just made it worse.
Since returning private military contractors with PTSD injuries can normally choose their own doctors, they usually get the medical treatment they need.
Current PTSD Drugs
Unfortunately, this medical treatment is limited. A combination of drugs and therapy eventually controls PTSD in many cases. But “eventually” is usually a long time, and “controlled” is a long way from “cured.”
The Food and Drug Administration has approved a handful of anti-anxiety drugs to treat PTSD symptoms. Doctors may also use antidepressants off-label to treat PTSD. By that time, the victim is dangerously overmedicated.
Additionally, because the symptoms are so severe and help seems so far away, many victims self-medicate with alcohol or illegal drugs. This self-medication often helps in the short term. But it’s incredibly destructive in the long run.
Much like medication, PTSD therapy is not a permanent solution for this injury. Everyone responds to different kinds of therapy in different ways. As the trial-and-error process continues, the PTSD gets worse. The victim’s deteriorating condition requires different kinds of therapy, and the downward spiral continues.
Potential PTSD Drugs
Psychedelic drugs, like LSD, and party drugs, like Molly (ecstasy), have shown some promise in some preliminary trials. But due to government controls, extensive research is almost impossible, which means drug approval is almost impossible.
No one is sure how or why, but these psychedelic drugs reverse the amygdala/hippocampus imbalance. Once the devil’s voice is quieter, it’s easier to listen to the angel’s voice. Ideally, if the psychedelic drugs address the cause, the drugs and therapy must only temporarily relieve the symptoms, which is what drugs and therapy were designed to do in the first place.
We should pause and state that despite the promise of psychedelic drugs, PTSD victims must resist the temptation to self-medicate. These powerful drugs must be administered under a doctor’s close supervision. Otherwise, the victim may develop co-existing PTSD, an injury that’s almost impossible to reverse under any circumstances.
Private Military Contractors and PTSD
OSI victims north of the border are eligible for a Purple Heart and some limited services. Private military contractor PTSD victims are eligible for Defense Base Act benefits, which include lost wage replacement and reasonable medical bill payment, if they meet other qualifications.
The main Defense Base Act qualifications are a deployment-related illness or injury in an overseas war zone. Let’s break them down individually.
A deployment-related condition must be at least indirectly related to deployment. Assume Mike, a contractor in Iraq, jogs regularly during off-duty hours, partially to stay in shape and partially because he enjoys it. If he falls and breaks his leg, that injury is covered, even though he wasn’t technically on the job and wasn’t exclusively working in the scope of employment.
On a related note, if a pre-existing illness or injury contributes to the risk and/or severity of a deployment-related injury or illness, a Defense Base Act lawyer can obtain full benefits.
An illness is usually a toxic exposure, breathing problems, repetitive stress injury, or another such condition that unfolds over the course of more than one work shift. An injury is almost always a sudden and unexpected trauma, like a motor vehicle crash.
As for the final qualification, every country with an official American military presence is an overseas war zone. Additionally, some contractors who work for sympathetic foreign governments are eligible for DBA benefits.
Note that U.S. citizenship is irrelevant. Foreign nationals who meet these requirements are eligible for benefits. Likewise, the type of work doesn’t matter. The private contractor umbrella covers people like Peace Corps volunteers.
For more information about DBA procedure, contact Barnett, Lerner, Karsen, Frankel & Castro, P.A.