Ukrainian medics of 79th brigade practice and refine tactics from evacuation of wounded soldiers during a training exercise, as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on March 1, 2024.
“The soldier above all others prays for peace,” the former American military general Douglas MacArthur once said, “for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.” But what about peace with oneself? Veterans Affairs department data. Many more, in the U.S. and elsewhere, suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder as conflicts spiral around the world.
Amid this mental health catastrophe, authorities have begun turning to psychedelics for help—and for good reason. On Feb. 21, Ukraine’s special parliamentary commission responsible for the medical care of veterans and service personnel, voted to establish a working group toof MDMA-assisted therapy on PTSD. “We have to deal with mental health issues,” Minister of Healthcare Viktor Liashko, who still needs to sign off on the group, told Ukraine’s official parliament TV channel, “ how new methods will help quickly and qualitatively.” In December, the U.S.