California Invests $4.7 Million in Psychedelic Therapy Research for Veterans

Governor Gavin Newsom on September 18 signed Assembly Bill 113, directing $4.7 million in state funds toward clinical research on psychedelic-assisted therapy for California veterans whose post-traumatic stress disorder has not responded to conventional treatment. The measure marks the first time California has committed public dollars to studying psilocybin, MDMA, ketamine and related compounds as mental health interventions.

What the new law establishes

The legislation, which absorbed provisions from Senator Brian W. Jones's Senate Bill 1224, creates the California Emerging Therapies Research Partnership Fund. The state's Department of Health Care Services and Department of Veterans Affairs will jointly administer the program, issuing grants to a University of California campus that will serve as an anchor institution for federally registered clinical trials.

Lawmakers defined "emerging therapies" to include psilocybin, MDMA, ketamine, ibogaine and DMT, but with a critical limitation: the substances may be administered only inside federally registered trials, not through general clinical practice. The bill also requires the California Department of Veterans Affairs to convene a Veteran Emerging Therapies Research Advisory Council to guide how the funds are spent and to ensure the research addresses the specific needs of the veteran population.

Senator Jones, who represents Santee, announced the signing and said veterans "deserve access to promising emerging therapies" when standard treatments fail. The bill passed as part of a state budget trailer package, avoiding the procedural delays that often stall standalone legislation.

Five years of advocacy

The allocation follows roughly five years of organizing by veterans groups, researchers and bipartisan lawmakers. Jesse Gould, founder of the Heroic Hearts Project, praised Senator Jones, Governor Newsom and state senators Josh Becker, Scott Wiener and Josh Lowenthal for shepherding the measure through the legislature. Gould's organization says it has helped more than 1,500 veterans and their families address the impacts of military trauma, and it has been among the most vocal advocates for expanding legal access to psychedelic-assisted care.

Several major veterans organizations backed the legislative push, including the American Legion, AMVETS, the Military Officers Association of America and Vietnam Veterans of America. David Kuta, commander of the California Veterans of Foreign Wars, told Patch that traditional counseling and medication help many veterans but do not work for everyone. He criticized what he described as a one-pill-fits-all approach to treating the invisible wounds of service.

A tightly regulated research pathway

California's framework is deliberately cautious. Unlike Oregon's voter-approved psilocybin program, which created a regulated system of licensed service centers for adult use, AB 113 channels money exclusively into clinical trials. The requirement that studies be federally registered means they will operate under FDA and DEA oversight, with the attendant safety protocols, institutional review boards and data reporting standards.

The approach mirrors a smaller program enacted in Utah earlier this year. Governor Spencer Cox in March signed House Bill 390, authorizing a $1 million state-funded clinical study of psychedelic-assisted therapy for veterans with treatment-resistant PTSD. University of Utah Health is overseeing that trial, which also restricts participation to veterans who have not responded to FDA-approved medications or evidence-based psychotherapies.

Federal momentum builds

The state-level actions arrive as the federal government accelerates its own psychedelic research agenda. The Department of Veterans Affairs launched a clinical trial this year evaluating psilocybin for major depression in veterans, including those with treatment-resistant depression. The FDA, meanwhile, has granted priority review status to multiple psychedelic therapy applications and held a public hearing in September on the potential therapeutic use of these substances.

President Trump signed an executive order in April directing federal agencies to speed research into psilocybin, MDMA and ibogaine for mental health and addiction treatment. That order made $50 million available for state-level research programs, creating an incentive for states like California to invest their own funds.

For veterans struggling with PTSD, depression and opioid addiction, the convergence of state and federal interest offers a potential expansion of treatment options after decades in which few pharmacological innovations reached clinical practice. Whether the research ultimately validates psychedelic-assisted therapy as a safe and effective intervention will depend on the rigor of the trials California now intends to fund.