Today, on National PTSD Awareness Day, I am especially reminded of the weight this day carries. As a Marine Corps Veteran who served for 16 years, I have witnessed the devastating toll PTSD and suicide have taken on my fellow veterans. More than 6,000 veterans end their lives each year, and over 130,000 have died by suicide since 9/11. This number is staggering—it’s 18 times higher than the total number of US service members killed in post-9/11 war zones.

Given the importance of this day, I was shocked to see ICER choose today to release a critical report on MDMA-Assisted Therapy. It’s widely recognized by policymakers, VA clinicians, and researchers that MDMA-AT is a very promising new treatment for PTSD. Veterans are in desperate need of new effective healing options, and ICER’s report—and its timing—feels intentionally harmful and insensitive.

I am deeply troubled by the lingering drug policy stigma that seems to be influencing ICER’s misguided conclusions. I urge the FDA to consider the thousands of veteran lives are at stake as they make their upcoming decision on the approval of MDMA-AT.

Juliana Mercer
Director Advocacy & Public Policy
USMC