EXCLUSIVEFormer Navy SEAL Morgan Luttrell bashes FDA after agency delivers blow to psychedelic medicine which saved his own life amid PTSD struggle: 'It's a poor decision'
- Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, said the FDA panel's decision was 'a poor choice'
- The former Navy SEAL has credited psychedelic therapy with saving his life
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A former Navy SEAL-turned-congressman says the FDA's decision bashing psychedelics to threat PTSD is a 'poor decision' because the therapies saved his own life.
Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, has credited psychedelic drugs he was able to take in Mexico with saving his life and marriage after experiencing the true atrocity of war through multiple brutal combat deployments.
'This was a poor decision and a step in the wrong direction,' Luttrell told DailyMail.com in an exclusive statement about the FDA's determination.
'I've traveled the country studying and researching these emerging therapies, and I have personally experienced the groundbreaking effects they can have,' the former Navy SEAL continued.
'I will never stop advocating for innovative solutions for our veterans and service members,' Luttrell said.
Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, during a combat deployment somewhere in the Middle East. After suffering a spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury (TBI) he turned to psychedelic medicines to recover. He has credited some of those treatments with saving his life
After serving as a SEAL for 14 years, he medically retired in 2014 to seek treatment for mental health issues that came as a result of his service.
He argues that for veterans who suffer from war-induced mental issues, PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs), sometimes there are no other options besides psychedelics.
After himself suffering a TBI and spinal cord injury in a 2009 helicopter crash, he has been working to make available the treatments which aided him to other veterans.
Luttrell served as a Navy SEAL for 14 years before medically retiring
MDMA is known commonly as the party drug 'Molly.' It recently has been studied by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for potential benefits in treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Luttrell had to go to Mexico to get psychotherapies after his military tenure
'The effects of emerging therapies for our veterans have been groundbreaking, and I'm proud to be a leader on pushing forward this innovative tool into the proverbial toolbox, especially while moving away from opioids,' Luttrell told DailyMail.com previously.
'As the FDA is finally playing ball to move towards approving these therapies, it's critical we ensure the VA has an implementation plan and can effectively and efficiently treat veterans,' he continued.
The FDA's decision does not stop the drug from becoming an approved therapy - that decision is expected in August - but it will surely influence the agency's determination.
The agency found that there were inconsistencies in data across MDMA for PTSD studies, leading to further questions about its efficacy.
They also found that MDMA poses drug risks such as abuse, injury and potential heart problems.
Notably, the FDA panel said the studies were not diverse enough.
Many of the studies they reviewed involved white males and only five black males were given MDMA in the tests, the Associated Press reports.
'The fact that this study has so many white participants is problematic because I don't want something to roll out that only helps this one group,' the panel's patient representative Elizabeth Joniak-Grant said.
Dr. Rajesh Narendran, who chaired the FDA advisory panel, said he was 'not convinced at all that this drug is effective based on the data I saw.'
The FDA advisory panel of 11 decided 10-1 against the recommendation of MDMA for PTSD
Despite the skepticism from the panel, lawmakers are pushing ahead with psychotherapies.
Earlier this week, Reps. Jack Bergman, R-Mich., and Lou Correa, D-Calif., the co-chairs of the Psychedelics Advancing Therapies (PATH) Caucus, celebrated the inclusion of two psychotherapy-related amendments being included in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) appropriations bills.
Those amendments would fund VA's research into the therapies to treat PTSD, addiction and other mental health issues.
