A Canadian Forces veteran who served in Afghanistan says Canada should be a “world leader” on alternative therapies for treating veterans’ post-traumatic stress disorder and other post-combat trauma, including the use of psychedelics.
Retired MCpl. Gordon Hurley says psychedelic treatments such as ketamine and psilocybin, or “magic mushrooms,” can give veterans “a breath of relief” from their trauma or addictions, pointing to his own experience, and is calling for further study and coverage for physician-assisted therapies.
“I really think we’re in a unique position as a country, with such a liberal view on health care and life, that we should be able to be a world leader in providing alternative therapies,” he told Mercedes Stephenson in an interview that aired Sunday on The West Block ahead of Remembrance Day.
“We should be doing the same thing with our veterans just how you send us to war. A majority of the time we’re saying, ‘Send me, send me.’ We can do the same thing with these types of treatments.”
Hurley deployed to Afghanistan in the summer of 2008, just 15 months after joining the military and completing basic training. He was injured by an improvised explosive device but returned to the battlefield just three weeks after surgery.
More than 40,000 Canadians served in Afghanistan, many on multiple tours during the 20-year global War on Terror, and 165 Canadian Armed Forces members died there.
Many veterans of that war returned to Canada suffering not just from PTSD but also traumatic brain injuries and effects from toxic burn pit exposure, among other traumas.
Research has suggested recent veterans have had a higher rate of mental health and addiction issues compared to older veterans and the overall Canadian population.
Veterans Affairs Canada is conducting research and clinical trials into the use of ketamine as a treatment for traumatic brain injuries and depression, but has yet to launch a similar project on psilocybin. Independent studies have been launched across Canada in recent years into psychedelic treatments.
A Senate committee report last December urged the federal government to “immediately” conduct a “major research program” into how psychedelics can help veterans suffering from PTSD. The report said research already exists into the effectiveness of such treatments and warned Canada is falling behind other countries in studying them.
The United States has funded research into psychedelic treatments for veterans, but the U.S. FDA this year rejected an approval for MDMA treatment, calling for further study.
Briefing notes prepared for the veterans affairs minister last year say the department only provides financial coverage for treatments that are supported by solid research, and says approved psychological and psychiatric treatments are the “first-line evidence-based” approach to treating PTSD and other mental issues.
“Western treatment is completely fine,” Hurley said. “There’s nothing wrong with prescription drugs or SSDIs (antidepressants), whatever is going to work to get that person off the ledge is worth it. But there are other treatment options.”
Hurley said he travels to Mexico to receive treatment through psychedelics through a clinic run by Canadian doctors, and touted their effectiveness.
Besides psychedelics, Hurley also pointed to a treatment known as stellate ganglion block, which numbs nerves in the neck and “basically resets your nervous system,” he said. The treatment has been studied at multiple Canadian hospitals and universities and has been called “miraculous” in treating PTSD.
“To get that initial breath and that initial pause where they don’t have the cravings for their addiction, or they don’t have the annoyances of trauma, of post-traumatic stress, of perhaps being too freaked out to go into public spaces or noises and all these other detriments to the veteran’s life … we could be fixing with different types of treatment,” he said.
Hurley said the government should particularly cover assisted treatment programs that allow doctors to work with patients and ensure veterans are taking the proper treatments and dosages.
“The doctor is going to have specific training to deal with psychedelics and how that integrates into a person’s life,” he said.
“We’re so new to it. It’s not anyone’s fault, but we should really be ahead of the curve on this.”