Massachusetts for Mental Health Options (MMHO) held a press conference today at the Bilingual Veterans Outreach Center in Springfield, MA featuring veterans, elected officials, and community members voicing their support for Question 4 on the November ballot. The proposal, the “Natural Psychedelic Substances Act,” would authorize and regulate psychedelic-assisted therapy in Massachusetts.
“Our mental health crisis is in dire need of new approaches; overdose deaths are shockingly high and millions of Americans are debilitated by PTSD without effective treatment options,” said Representative Lindsay Sabadosa, 1st Hampshire district. “These challenges are hitting the veterans in our community at an even more acute level. Natural psychedelics provide a promising and research-backed opportunity for healing where traditional, pharmaceutical therapies have fallen short. In Massachusetts, we have the opportunity to create access to life-saving healthcare this November.”
The current options for treating mental health issues are limited and often aren’t helpful to veterans with PTSD and patients confronting end-of-life anxiety. Veterans are facing a PTSD crisis. More than 6,000 veterans die by suicide each year and countless more struggle with the trauma from their service. Current laws and medical practice allow dying patients to access medications for physical pain but offer little to address the mental suffering that is part of an end-of-life diagnosis.
“All veterans are unequivocally entitled to the mental health services they need,” said Sergeant Gumersindo Gomez, Executive Director of the Bilingual Veterans Outreach Center and a VA/VVA Accredited Service Officer. “Providing legal access to natural psychedelic medicines can be the difference between life and death for many of the brave men and women who have served our country. We need to provide access to new treatment options to address the growing mental health crisis, not limit treatment for those who need it most.”
Question 4 would allow adults 21 years and older to access natural psychedelic substances whose tremendous therapeutic potential for addressing mental health has been attested to by leading medical research institutions such as Mass General and Johns Hopkins. Many veterans suffering from PTSD have found healing and help with natural psychedelic medicines where other treatments have failed. Retail sales will not be permitted through this ballot question.
For more information on Question 4 please visit https://maformentalhealth.org/