(NewsNation) — Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healy has announced a new bill that would study whether psychedelics can help veterans.
The idea has gained traction over the past several years and united people on opposite sides of the political spectrum.
Adam Zaffuto, a veteran from Pittsburgh who says psychedelics have dramatically helped his recovery, said Friday on “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” psychedelics helped him find “self-love” and repair relationships with his family.
“The side effects for me were immense amounts of self-love, immense amounts of self-transformation, an ability to be a better husband and a much more engaged father and to provide my daughter with the father that she deserves,” Zaffuto said. “My wife got her husband back and got the man that she married back.”
Healey announced her administration’s effort Thursday at a news conference where she unveiled the Honoring, Empowering and Recognizing Our Servicemembers and Veterans Act, or HERO Act, the Boston Herald reported.
The legislation, if passed, would establish a working group to “study the potential benefits of alternative therapies, such as psilocybin, in treating veterans suffering from mental health disorders,” the governor’s office said in a statement.
Psychedelics as treatment for mental health disorders, including PTSD, has gained traction in recent years, especially as more veterans come forward with their stories of success.
One Texas man recently told NewsNation affiliate KXAN the drugs were able to turn his life around for the better.
As for Zaffuto, his treatment included three “ceremonies,” as he called them, of MDMA and ayahuasca, a brew made of ingredients with hallucinogenic properties.
“They were incredibly impactful in changing my life and allowing me to really release a lot of the guilt and a lot of the shame that I was still holding on to, and it profoundly changed my life,” Zaffuto said. “I I like to say that it changed my experience here on Earth.”
He had used cannabis in the past, but this was the first time using psychedelics. He hopes that other veterans will consider the treatment.
“They’ve also kind of started to see the light on psychedelics and see that these are effective treatments, that we are kind of breaking through the stigma of the ’60s, the stigma of the hippies, you know, smoking weed and taking some mushrooms in Golden Gate Park,” Zaffuto said. “When these are used properly in a ceremonial and a therapeutic way, they’re incredibly effective.”
