Sen. Tommy Tuberville, chairing a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee field hearing in Opelika, Alabama, said he is “confident” the Trump administration will widen access to psychedelic therapies for military veterans coping with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and other mental-health conditions. The Republican lawmaker cited repeated appeals from veterans who have travelled abroad for ibogaine, psilocybin and other treatments, adding that he expects legislative and regulatory support from VA Secretary Doug Collins and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Ilse Wiechers, a senior official at the Veterans Health Administration, told the panel the VA is already running roughly a dozen clinical trials involving MDMA, psilocybin and related compounds, and would administer any future FDA-approved psychedelic drugs in tightly controlled clinical settings. She said the July passage of the HALT Fentanyl Act has streamlined protocols for private and public researchers working with Schedule I and II substances, accelerating evidence gathering on their safety and efficacy. Witnesses from Compass Pathways, the Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition and the University of Alabama urged Congress to fund additional trials and prepare VA facilities and staff for potential FDA approvals as early as next year. Separately, lawmakers and advocates argued that moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III would unlock federally backed research on its usefulness for veterans, particularly in treating insomnia, anxiety and chronic pain.