Nine war veterans grappled with PTSD sought solace in a psychedelic retreat in Mexico. A year post-trip, they shared their experiences.
Fed-up Warriors Find Solace in Mystical Journeys
Looking for a change, the Veterans Administration recently took a bold step, financing their own clinical trials for PTSD, depression, and addiction, utilizing two hallucinogenic drugs - psilocybin and MDMA. Despite the optimism, it will be years before these treatments can be prescribed to veterans. In the meantime, thousands of these warriors aren't waiting; instead, they're exploring mysterious psychedelic retreats in places where the substances are legal, primarily for shamanic ceremonies. In March 2024, we joined nine war-scarred vets embarking on such a journey, hoping to find the solace they so desperately deserve, on Mexico's scenic west coast.
They traveled from all corners of the United States, an eclectic group of veterans, each bearing invisible wounds that prove challenging to mend. Their destination: a tranquil village near Puerto Vallarta for a week-long psychedelic excursion, diving into the unknown, yet a risk worth taking for TJ Duff, a seasoned Navy sailor.
This risk-taker, confronting his demons, yearns for hope amidst his bleak reality. Duff joined the Navy at 18, just months into his first deployment on the USS Cole, he narrowly escaped death as two suicide bombers tore into the ship in Yemen, claiming the lives of 17 of his comrades.
The chaos and carnage resulted in a bottling-up of emotions, Duff explains, a pattern that would continue in the ensuing years. Fellow veteran Randy Weaver, a police officer in New York, echoes Duff's struggles:
"I don't escape the ditch when I hear loud noises... I've created so much destruction that I've given in to the demons that tell me my family would be better off without me."
Weaver's fought his PTSD for 14 years, returning from combat stints in Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The demonic voices continue to haunt him, making daily life a constant battle.
[Natural Healing Alternatives]Fed up with traditional treatments, Weaver and his fellow war-bound vets searched for a different solution to their torment. This search led them to the Heroic Hearts Project, a non-profit dedicated to helping US veterans overcome combat-related PTSD by providing them access to psychedelics.
Grappling with trauma-induced anger, resulting in a messy divorce, firefighter Ed Glover found solace in the Heroic Hearts Project. He served with the Marines in Afghanistan, struggling under the weight of his experiences for over two decades.
"Seeing it day in, day out takes its toll."
"Many of our struggles date back long before military service," Michael Giardina, a former navy sailor, admitted. Saddled with an emotionally abusive father who took his own life 16 years ago, and a sister who committed suicide just months before this retreat, Giardina is eager to heal, carry on, and provide a better life for his children.
Jesse Gould, a founder and driving force behind the Heroic Hearts Project, confessed that his healing journey began after a psychedelic retreat in Peru. Gould and his organization strongly believe that hallucinogens can provide veterans access to a different perspective, helping them confront and resolve their traumatic memories.
[Healing Through Introspection]For Weaver, Glover, Giardina, and the other six vets on this Mexican escapade, the journey would unfold over several days, attended by traditional healers and guided by the Heroic Hearts Project team. The first two sessions involved psilocybin, a naturally occurring psychedelic found in certain mushrooms, used in indigenous medicinal practices for centuries.
In these ceremonies, the healers brewed the psilocybin-infused tea, and the vets consumed it, blindfolded to eliminate distractions. After an initial hour of what seemed like a relaxing meditation, Michael Giardina signaled the need for support. Minutes later, his foot started to shake, soon followed by his entire body. Giardina appeared to undergo an exorcism, his agony palpable. The psilocybin had taken hold.
For Randy Weaver and TJ Duff, the effects appeared more muted, as firefighter Ed Glover grappled with emotions, oscillating between rapture and deep sorrow.
Glover later compared the experience to taking "every last breath of any victim, patient, or friend that I had lost."
A day later, the vets gathered to share their thoughts, feelings, and the insights gained from their experiences.
Giardina recounted: "It felt like an exorcism – my foot was going crazy, and I could feel my body convulsing."
Glover echoed, "I felt like I was taking every last breath of any victim, patient, or friend that I had lost."
Weaver shared his own revelation: "I could feel myself on that medevac, with those I lost... It brought a sense of peace."
TJ Duff, however, found the ordeal unsettling, at times even frightening. Despite his initial optimism, Duff decided to leave the retreat early, feeling depleted, and seeking the safety of conventional treatments. The final ceremony of the retreat involved 5-MeO-DMT, a powerful and fast-acting psychedelic substance.
[Future of Psychedelic Therapy]Despite the VA warning against self-medicating and using psychedelics as part of a self-treatment program, research shows promise. Last year, a small phase two trial at the VA using MDMA therapy for PTSD displayed encouraging results, with approximately 45% of participants achieving remission, a nearly unheard-of feat with conventional treatments[5].
Dr. Shereef Elnahal, the VA's top physician, expressed optimism about the VA's efforts to integrate these treatments into standard care, anticipating approval within the next couple of years. With encouraging data and unwavering support from the incoming administration, veterans struggling with PTSD may soon find hope in the healing powers of psychedelic therapy.
Producers: Katie Brennan, Eliza Costas, Grace Conley. Editor: Matthew Danowski.
- PTSD
- Veterans
- Psilocybin
- 5-MeO-DMT
- MDMA
- VA Clinical Trials
- The brave veterans in question, seeking alternative solutions for their mental health struggles, found solace in the Heroic Hearts Project, a non-profit aimed at helping US veterans overcome PTSD by providing them access to psychedelics.
- During the psychedelic retreat in Mexico, the veterans underwent various sessions involving psychedelics like psilocybin and 5-MeO-DMT, seeking to confront and resolve their traumatic memories.
- Despite the VA's caution against self-medicating and using psychedelics as part of a self-treatment program, research, such as the VA's clinical trial using MDMA therapy for PTSD, has shown promising results, highlighting the potential future of psychedelic therapy for veterans struggling with PTSD.
