Are Joe Biden And Congress Patriotic Enough To Legalize Psychedelic Medicine?

• The U.S. military is experiencing an attrition crisis: 22 veterans committing suicide every day, from a mental health epidemic that is being ignored by the federal government
• If Joe Biden and Congress actually do “support the troops”, they could address this crisis tomorrow – with psychedelic medicine
• A patriotism test for Washington politicians

Throughout the twenty years (and counting) of the endless War on Terror, Americans have heard their presidents, senators and Congressional representatives repeating one mantra more than any other: support the troops.

Whenever they feel it necessary, these political hypocrites add that “it’s the patriotic thing to do.”

So why do these same political leaders refuse to “support” the men and women of the U.S. armed forces themselves?

Every day, 22 U.S. veterans commit suicide. Part of the 10s of thousands of past and current military personnel that have been partially or completely disabled by mental health issues -- serving a government that doesn't care.

Most of this is due to the epidemic of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the U.S. military. An epidemic directly attributable to the combat duty of these military personnel in the United State’s serial wars against “terrorism”.

Imagine the hysterics in the White House and Congress if the U.S. was suffering 22 combat fatalities daily. But seeing 22 past-and-current members of the military commit suicide each day as a result of combat is apparently just a big yawn in Washington.

Because if the Biden administration and Congress actually cared about this epidemic of veteran suicides, they could do something about it – immediately.

Psychedelic drugs: mental health Miracle Drugs

Regular readers of Psychedelic Stock Watch already know the facts regarding psychedelic medicine: a truly revolutionary approach to treat (in particular) mental health disorders.

Conventional mental health care:
 
Psychedelic medicine:
 
PTSD is one of the mental health disorders where psychedelic medicine is demonstrating an especially huge improvement on the existing standard of care.

While 22 U.S. veterans commit suicide each day, two-thirds of veterans receiving therapy for PTSD from the Department of Veteran Affairs obtain no benefit from their treatment.

In contrast, in a Phase III clinical trial of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy (piloted by MAPS), roughly 90% of participants in the study are reporting significant benefits from this therapy, with 67% “no longer qualifying for PTSD diagnosis” (i.e. they were cured). These are veterans who will very likely not reach the point of despair that leads to suicide.

Public company, Mydecine Innovations Group (CAN:MYCO / US:MYCOF) is working on a psilocybin-based therapy for PTSD, and is preparing to commence a Phase II clinical trial. Further support for veteran’s mental health that is a little farther down the line.

Beyond the statistics, a California bill to decriminalize/legalize some psychedelic drugs has put a human face on the U.S. military’s PTSD catastrophe.
 
That’s about as unequivocal as an endorsement can get. Hopefully it gets traction in California’s state Assembly, because no one in Washington seems to be paying attention.

And this is not one of the U.S. political issues that is split along party lines. As Democratic California seeks to move forward on psychedelic drug reform, conservative/Republican Texas has passed a bill to study the potential of psychedelic drugs to treat veterans’ mental health disorders.

In Texas, “support the troops” is more than just empty words.

White House and Congress exposed for lack of patriotism

Twenty-two U.S. veterans are committing suicide each day – as a direct result of serving their country in foreign wars.

Meanwhile, as the Biden administration (and the Trump administration before it) ignores this suicide epidemic in the military, all that the U.S. government appears to be interested in is starting new foreign wars.

Not a day goes by without someone from the Biden administration “threatening” Russia or China or Iran (or others) with new military action. The most-extreme saber-rattling by the U.S. government since the Cuban Missile Crisis.

If Russia conducts military exercises within its own borders, the U.S. government sees this as an “international threat” that demands an immediate response. But 22 past-and-current members of the U.S. military killing themselves every day doesn’t even make it onto the radar of the White House (or Congress).

The optics here are vividly clear.

The only thing that the White House and Congress actually “support” are U.S. wars. The troops who fight those wars are treated like disposable parts. No support – not even when their lives are literally at stake.

Lack of federal support for troops is jeopardizing the combat readiness of the United States

The enormous (and tragic) irony of the U.S. federal government “supporting” its many wars – but not supporting the troops who fight those wars – is that this lack of patriotism is now literally threatening the capacity of the U.S. military to fight new wars.
 
Over 70% of young Americans can’t qualify for military service due to obesity, lack of education, or criminal record.

Of the near-30% who do qualify – the best-and-brightest – few would want a low-paying job in the military, for a government that has no regard for the well-being of its military personnel.

This means that a time when the United States can least afford any attrition at all among existing personnel, it is suffering a devastating attrition rate from a mental health epidemic, which is steadily worsening because no one in Washington cares enough to do anything about it.

Neither Russia nor China is inflicting 22 casualties per day on the U.S. military. The U.S. government is doing this all by itself, simply because Washington politicians refuse to support U.S. military personnel (with more than their empty words).

If Russia and China really are the grave threats that the United States portrays them as every day, they must be laughing themselves silly – watching the combat readiness of the U.S. military steadily degrade solely due to political apathy.

Patriotism test for Biden and Congress

Does the Biden administration and Congress “support the troops”? If you’re someone actually serving in the U.S. military, the answer to that question appears to be an unequivocal “no”.

Even if U.S. political leaders have no humanitarian concern for the horrific suffering of U.S. veterans (as a consequence of serving their country), on a purely strategic level any patriotic American should be gravely concerned about the appalling rate of attrition among military personnel – with the prospect of a new war increasingly likely.

The Biden administration and Congress could address this crisis tomorrow, if they had a sufficient level of patriotic urgency to act.

At the state level in the United States, we see this sense of urgency starting to materialize. But Washington politicians remain AWOL.