The VA Isn't Running Just One Psychedelic Trial. It's Running Several — With Different Drugs, Different Companies, and One Shared Goal.

Published Jul 31, 2026, 5:54 PM EDT

Compass Pathways executive said psilocybin trial admits veterans with PTSD alongside their depression.

Follow

Published Jul 31, 2026, 5:54 PM EDT

When the VA announced its first-ever MDMA-assisted therapy clinical trial for veterans with PTSD this spring, it was treated, reasonably, as a single, discrete story: one drug, one trial, one company's compound moving through one arm of a massive federal health system. What that framing misses is that the VA is not running just one psychedelic research program right now. It's running several, involving different drugs, different sponsors and different points of entry into the same veteran population — and at least one of those programs is being built with direct help from a company that is also quietly preparing the VA's formularies, distribution channels and clinical staff for a day when these drugs are actually approved.