North Carolina Lawmakers Unite Behind Psychedelic Research Bill for Veterans

RALEIGH – NC Lawmakers from both parties held a press conference at the General Assembly to support legislation that would direct state funding toward research on psilocybin, MDMA, and ibogaine as treatments for PTSD and related conditions. Rep. Allen Chesser (R), a former Army National Guard turret gunner who completed more than 100 combat missions in Iraq, told reporters he still fights battles he brought home with him. He said the country continues to lose veterans to suicide at an alarming daily rate and warned that sticking with the same treatment approach guarantees the same losses.

The legislation, known as the Healing through Evidence-based Access to Lifesaving Care (HEAL) Act, would create a Breakthrough Therapies Research Grant Fund inside the Department of Health and Human Services. Grant recipients would conduct three-year studies on psychedelics’ potential for treating anxiety, depression, and trauma-related disorders, following FDA protocols and federal law, according to bill text filed with the General Assembly.

The bill would also stand up a Breakthrough Therapies Task Force made up of state health, military, and commerce officials, medical school representatives from UNC and East Carolina University, and tribal council members from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Lumbee Tribe, as detailed in a release from Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions (VETS). Sponsors are asking that the funding be folded into the state budget rather than passed as standalone legislation.

Sen. Robert Brinson (R), a fellow Army veteran and the bill’s lead Senate sponsor, said the measure represents a genuine investment in mental health research and access. Sen. Sophia Chitlik (D) added that repeated studies have shown psychedelics can produce lasting, measurable improvements in trauma and depression symptoms. Rep. Eric Ager (D) called PTSD widespread among veterans and said current approaches are falling short.

This is not North Carolina’s first run at the idea. A similar measure cleared a House committee in 2023 but never reached a final vote, and lawmakers tried again last year with a separate task force bill. Advocacy groups including Carolinas for Care and VETS have organized veterans to testify directly to legislators, betting that personal accounts will carry more weight than statistics alone.