GOP Congressman Details ‘Life-Saving’ Psychedelic Therapy Experience Where He Saw Cosmic Colors And Time Travel
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A GOP congressman is sharing more details about his “life-saving” experience with psychedelic therapy to treat symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)—explaining how ibogaine allowed him to not only see cosmic colors and shapes and mathematic formulas “raining down” on him but also helped resolve long-held challenges in his interpersonal relationships.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal that was published on Saturday, Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX), who is a retired Navy SEAL, explained why he’s become an advocate for psychedelic medicine in Congress, giving a candid recap of how he overcome severe mental health challenges after receiving ibogaine treatment in Mexico seven years ago.
In the new interview Luttrell, explained how he felt “unable to, you could say, start a new chapter” in his life after years in the military, saying veterans can easily “get lost” psychologically after extensive exposure to combat and then leaving friends when they return to civilian life.
“People try to talk you out of that black hole that we fall into. And sometimes the best discussion you need to have is with yourself,” he said. Psychedelics can help facilitate that internal conversation, Luttrell said.
“Make no mistake, that’s what you do. You’re in there just talking to yourself,” with psychedelic treatment, he said “There’s things you’ll never tell a psychologist [or] psychiatrist—something that’ll never come out of your mouth. If it needs to be addressed, the medication will address it.”
For his own journey with ibogaine, the congressman said it started with “colors that were kind of streaming down.”
“It’s like raining different colors. And then it started to go into shapes,” he said. “This is just my journey, OK? I’m gonna say that multiple times: This is just what happened to me. And then it was numbers and math. I think I saw time travel—just all these math problems and equations… But then pictures started to populate—pictures of my life, my life only—video reels, and that kind of takes people back, like, what are you exactly saying?”
He didn’t visualize any memories of the combat he went through during the psychedelic experience, however. Instead, Luttrell said, he was confronted with questions about how to reconcile his relationship with his mother, and when he internally asked if that’s what he was meant to address in the moment, he said he was flooded with thousands of images that “started raining down in my face.”
“Then I said, ‘I understand.’ And it went away,” he said.
The Wall Street Journal article about Luttrell’s psychedelics advocacy also noted that several other GOP lawmakers are embracing the issue.
Notably, the X account for the GOP-controlled House Veterans Affairs Committee shared Luttrell’s post about the article, and Chairman Mike Bost (R-IL) said that there “should be no wrong door or solution when it comes to getting veterans living with the invisible wounds of war the support and treatment they need to get back to living.”
“House Republicans will continue to lead the conversation on the use of safe and effective emerging therapies through public-private healthcare systems partnerships to combat PTSD,” he said. “One veteran lost to suicide is one too many and we have to continue to think outside the box to get people the help they need.”
Luttrell has been candid about his personal experience with ibogaine, including in interviews and op-eds for Marijuana Moment. He’s emphasized in the past that it’s not something he’d necessarily wish on anyone else given the intensity of the trip, which often involves vomiting. But despite those negative side effects, he’s made clear that he attributes his mental health today in large part to that difficult experience, so he’s championed bipartisan reform on an issue that appears to be gaining significant bipartisan support.
What happens next at the congressional level remains uncertain, but Reps. Jack Bergman (R-MI) and Lou Correa (D-CA)—co-chairs of the Congressional Psychedelic Advancing Therapies (PATH) Caucus—introduced a bill last month to provide $30 million in funding annually to establish psychedelics-focused “centers for excellence” at VA facilities, where veterans could receive novel treatment involving substances like psilocybin, MDMA and ibogaine. Luttrell is an original cosponsor.
Bergman has also expressed optimism about the prospects of advancing psychedelics reform under Trump, arguing that the administration’s efforts to cut spending and the federal workforce will give agencies “spines” to tackle such complex issues.
Within the Trump administration, top officials are also touting the therapeutic potential of psychedelics, including the head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) who said in an interview over the weekend that exploring psychedelic medicine is a “top priority,” especially when it comes to helping military veterans grapple with trauma from being sent to fight “unnecessary wars.”
The commissioner’s remarks has come in the context of a seemingly meaningful shift on psychedelics policy within this administration—with the secretaries of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that oversees FDA also having expressed support for exploring the issue. President Donald Trump’s recent pick for U.S. surgeon general has previously described her personal experience benefitting from psilocybin.
Just last week, VA Secretary Doug Collins touted the fact that he’s “one of the first” secretaries of the agency with a commitment to exploring psychedelics as a potential therapy option for veterans.
“What we’re seeing so far in some of the studies that are related to VA, and also outside of VA as well,” he told lawmakers during a House committee hearing, “is that there has been—especially when it comes to PTSD and also traumatic brain injury and others—we’re seeing some actual positive outcomes there, especially when it is coupled with intense counseling. And I think that’s the one of the keys that we look forward to.”
Bergman, for his part, has also expressed optimism about the prospects of advancing psychedelics reform under Trump, arguing that the administration’s efforts to cut spending and the federal workforce will give agencies “spines” to tackle such complex issues.
Collins also recently met with a military veteran who’s become an advocate for psilocybin access to discuss the therapeutic potential of psychedelic medicine for the veteran community.
Earlier this month, the secretary separately informed Trump during a Cabinet meeting that his agency is “opening up the possibility of psychedelic treatment” for veterans.
Also, during a Senate committee hearing this month, he separately reiterated his commitment to exploring the efficacy of psychedelic therapy to address serious mental health conditions that commonly afflict veterans.
Bipartisan congressional lawmakers have also asked the VA head to meet with them to discuss ways to provide access to psychedelic medicine for military veterans.
Collins disclosed last month that he had an “eye-opening” talk with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about the medical potential of psychedelic medicine. And Collins said he’s open to the idea of having the government provide vouchers to cover the costs of psychedelic therapy for veterans who receive services outside of VA as Congress considers pathways for access.
In December, VA separately announced that it’s providing $1.5 million in funding to study the efficacy of MDMA-assisted therapy for veterans with PTSD and alcohol use disorder (AUD).
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