A state budget trailer bill with funding for psychedelic therapy research to help veterans has been signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sen. Brian W. Jones, R-Santee, announced Tuesday.
Language from Senate Bill 1224 "was successfully integrated into Assembly Bill 113, a state budget bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 18, making its key provisions the law of California," the state Senate minority leader announced in a statement.
Jones said SB 1224, titled the California Emerging Therapies Research Partnership Act, "was the result of three years of persistent advocacy on behalf of veterans who have not found relief through conventional mental health treatment options."
"Our veterans are suffering, and it is incumbent on us to facilitate their recovery from life-altering trauma and resulting mental health battles," Jones said. "This is a major step forward for our veterans who deserve access to the most promising emerging therapies available.
"We fought hard for three years to get this language across the finish line, and today that fight paid off.
Jones said the bill "will ensure that when a veteran comes home with PTSD and conventional treatments have not worked, California is at the forefront of finding what does. The veterans in my district have been waiting far too long."
Jones said he was grateful to veteran organizations that "stood alongside him throughout the fight, including the American Legion, AMVets, Healing Breakthrough, Heroic Heart Project, Military Officers Association of America and Vietnam Veterans of America."
Jesse Gould, Heroic Hearts Project founder and resident, praised Jones, Newsom, state Sens. Josh Becker, D-Menlo Park, and Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, and others "who have continued to push this important work forward."
"For more than five years, Heroic Hearts Project has worked alongside veterans, researchers, and bipartisan leaders in California to advance new pathways to healing for those struggling with the invisible wounds of service," Gould said.
The state's $4.7 million allocation for veterans' psychedelic research "is a meaningful milestone in that journey," Gould added.
David Kuta, commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars for California, said veterans who return home "find themselves suffering from PTSD, depression, opioid addiction and other invisible wounds of war."
"While traditional treatments such as counseling and medication help many veterans, they do not work for everyone," Kuta added. "For too long, the one-pill-fits-all approach has left a fatal legacy in its wake for the men and women who've borne the battle for our country."
