Veteran Advocates Thank House Leadership for Advancing Landmark Legislation and Urge the Senate to Retain the Provision in Economic Development Bill
BOSTON, July 20, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions (VETS), a leading nonprofit organization dedicated to ending the veteran suicide epidemic, today applauded the Massachusetts House of Representatives for passing legislation that would establish a first-of-its-kind pilot program for supervised psychedelic-assisted treatment in licensed mental health clinics. The measure, championed by Representative James O'Day, was adopted by a unanimous vote as an amendment to the House's $561 million economic development bill (H.5576), which passed the full House on July 8 by a vote of 148-2.
Under the House-passed language, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) would issue permits to up to three licensed mental health clinics to provide on-site, supervised treatment using naturally occurring psychedelic compounds to clinically appropriate patients, administered by multidisciplinary care teams. Participating clinics must focus exclusively on mental health and remain independent of the cannabis, pharmaceutical, and psychedelic drug development industries. The program requires clinics to collect and report patient outcomes data for conditions including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance use disorder, establishes a dedicated Medical Psychedelics Fund, and directs DPH to coordinate with research institutions to expand federally authorized research on psychedelic-assisted therapies, including psilocybin, ibogaine, 5-MeO-DMT, and MDMA.
The amendment builds on the framework of H.4200 and S.1400, companion legislation filed by Representative James O'Day and Senator Cindy Friedman, which VETS has championed alongside Representative Decker's H.2203. In June, VETS met with House and Senate Leadership, convening veterans, researchers, and advocates to meet directly with legislators and staff. Veterans shared first-hand accounts of recovery from treatment-resistant PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and other invisible wounds of war that conventional treatments often fail to address.
"Massachusetts has a long tradition of leading on health care, and this pilot program continues it," said State Representative James O'Day, House Fourth Division Chair. "By allowing supervised, clinically appropriate use of these treatments in licensed mental health settings, we can gather the evidence we need while offering real hope to veterans and others for whom existing options have fallen short. I'm proud the House advanced this measure, and I'm grateful to the veterans who shared their stories with us."
"Massachusetts just took a serious step toward giving veterans access to treatments that are helping save lives," said Marcus Capone, U.S. Navy SEAL veteran and VETS Co-Founder. "In June, lawmakers heard directly from veterans about what these therapies made possible for them, and this week the House acted. We're grateful, and we're asking the Senate to finish the job."
"We've helped more than 1,300 veterans and spouses access psychedelic-assisted therapies through our Foundational Healing Grants program, and we've seen what happens when people finally receive care that works," said Amber Capone, CEO and Co-Founder of VETS. "We thank Leader O'Day, Representative Decker, Senator Friedman, and the entire Massachusetts House for treating veteran mental health with the urgency it deserves."
"When we brought veterans to the State House, our message was simple: the science is ready, and veterans can't wait," said Logan Davidson, Legislative Director at VETS. "The House's near-unanimous vote shows that lawmakers heard that message. We now urge the Senate to retain this language in its version of the economic development bill and send it to Governor Healey's desk this session."
The House vote arrives amid a historic shift in federal psychedelic policy. President Trump's April 18, 2026 Executive Order on "Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness" directs the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to make $50 million available to states that have established or are developing programs to advance psychedelic medicines for serious mental illness, positioning states like Massachusetts that act now to be first in line for federal partnership. VETS has been at the forefront of the state-led advocacy that helped secure these historic developments.
The economic development bill now moves to the Massachusetts Senate. VETS encourages the Senate to include the pilot program language in its version of the bill and looks forward to continuing to work with legislators in both chambers to deliver these provisions to Governor Maura Healey's desk.
For more information about VETS' advocacy and research efforts, visit www.vetsolutions.org.
About VETS
Founded in 2019, Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions (VETS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization working to end the veteran suicide epidemic by providing resources, research, and advocacy for U.S. military veterans seeking psychedelic-assisted therapies for traumatic brain injury (TBI), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), addiction, and other health conditions. VETS envisions a world where our veterans have access to the most advanced healthcare options to heal from the mental and physical wounds of war.
Media Contact
Brad Burge, Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions (VETS), 1 6508636887, [email protected], https://vetsolutions.org/
SOURCE Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions (VETS)
Share this article