On relief – Dave Philipps in NYT:

‘A van full of U.S. Special Operations veterans crossed the border into Mexico on a sunny day in July to execute a mission that, even to them, sounded pretty far out.
Over a period of 48 hours, they planned to swallow a psychedelic extract from the bark of a West African shrub, fall into a void of dark hallucinations and then have their consciousness shattered by smoking the poison of a desert toad.
The objective was to find what they had so far been unable to locate anywhere else: relief from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury symptoms.’

(…)

‘Psychedelic therapy trips like this are increasingly common among military veterans. For years, psychedelic clinics in Mexico were a little-known last-ditch treatment for people struggling with drug addiction. More recently, veterans have found that they also got lasting relief from mental health issues they had struggled with since combat.
No one tracks how many veterans seek psychedelic treatment in Mexico. Clinic owners estimate they now treat a few thousand American veterans a year, and say the number is steadily growing. Many of the veterans have free access to the U.S. veterans’ health care system but find standard treatments for combat-related mental health issues to be ineffective. The Department of Veterans Affairs announced this month that, for the first time in more than 50 years, it would fund research into psychedelic therapy. But while the research is conducted, the treatments will remain inaccessible to most veterans, perhaps for years.’

(…)

‘Psychedelic clinics typically administer ibogaine in a single dose, followed the next day by a dose of the poison of the Sonoran desert toad, called 5-MeO-DMT, a powerful short-acting psychedelic that tends to give users an overwhelming feeling of spiritual connection, earning it the nickname “the God molecule.” In most cases, the patient uses each drug just once, and participates in psychotherapy beforehand and afterward.’

(…)

‘“While initial research shows some positive results, ibogaine remains a Schedule 1 substance, making its use illegal under U.S. law,” a spokeswoman for the command said in a statement. The Navy has “zero tolerance for drug abuse,” the spokeswoman said, and SEALs should instead seek care through “approved medical channels.”’

(…)

‘The doctor who runs the clinic where the van of veterans was headed, Martín Polanco, said he set up a clinic, now called The Mission Within, near Tijuana, Mexico, in 2001 to treat drug addiction.
The focus of his practice shifted in 2016, he said, when he treated a retired SEAL. Afterward, the SEAL noticed that the drug had not only ended his heroin craving, but also reduced the anger, depression and insomnia he associated with PTSD.
Word spread in the SEAL community, Dr. Polanco said, and “now almost my whole practice is just treating Special Operations.”’

(…)

‘At sunset, there was a brief ceremony, some words of guidance, and then each man swallowed a pill.
The veterans settled on mattresses in a communal bedroom. Candles and tapestries gave it a hippy dorm-room vibe, but there were also heart monitors and stands holding IV fluid by each bed. The men slipped on eye covers and headphones, and waited for the drug to kick in.
An ibogaine trip is not known for being pleasant. Time, space, light and sound all splinter, and reality abandons the user for hours that can feel like eons. The drug also usually makes people physically ill.
Several veterans spent hours retching into bowls placed by their mattresses. When the vomiting subsided, the men lay quietly, seeming to sleep.’

(…)

‘The men awoke Sunday surprised by how good they felt. The Green Beret said he slept well for the first time in years.
Next came the toad poison. The men smoked it one by one, then slumped back in a daze. The psychedelic effect lasts only about 15 minutes, but many users experience a wild realm of infinitely expanding consciousness.
“It wasn’t a vision — I didn’t see anything, but I felt everything,” the sniper said afterward. He had a look of astonishment, and tears streaked down his cheeks.
“I had this overwhelming feeling that — I’m good,” he said, and then laughed.’

Read the article here.

The research into psychedelic therapy comes a bit late. But I guess the Department of Veteran Affairs has been known for let’s say not rushing.
The toad poison and the guilt.

The veteran who had this feeling of being, an overwhelming feeling of being, thanks to the toad poison.

It’s often people who are not guilty, or just slightly guilty, who experience the most insistent guilt.
Toad poison? Extracts from the bark of a West African shrub?

Whatever works.