In an opinion for The Hill, Brig. Gen. (ret.) Stephen N. Xenakis, M.D., discusses the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) early August rejection of psychedelics to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). With the right guidelines and infrastructure in place, midomafetamine (MDMA) treatment could set veterans and other communities suffering from PTSD and related mental health challenges on a path to recovery.

Brig. Gen. Xenakis is an adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist with many years of clinical, academic, and management experience. He is the Executive Director of APPA, an advisor for Physicians for Human Rights and the Center for Victims of Torture, and an Adjust Professor at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. He is also a member of the CERL Executive Board. Read his bio here.

The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of any organization or university.