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FUNNY AND WHAT’S NOT IN AN ELECTION YEAR. WE START WITH THE PUSH TO LEGALIZE PSYCHEDELICS FOR MENTAL HEALTH CARE. IT’S A MOVEMENT GAINING STEAM, THANKS IN PART TO THE VOICES OF AMERICA’S VETERANS. RESEARCHERS ARE LOOKING AT DRUGS LIKE PSILOCYBIN, THE PSYCHOACTIVE INGREDIENT IN MAGIC MUSHROOMS AND MDMA, KNOWN AS THE CLUB DRUG ECSTASY. BOTH ARE SHOWING PROMISE FOR TREATING MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS LIKE DEPRESSION AND PTSD. WHEN PAIRED WITH TALK THERAPY, DOZENS OF CLINICAL TRIALS ARE NOW UNDERWAY, LOOKING AT WHETHER THESE THERAPIES CAN HELP WITH OTHER ISSUES LIKE OCD, EATING DISORDERS, EVEN ALCOHOL AND OPIOID ADDICTION. OUR CORRESPONDENT JESSICA GOMEZ TRAVELED TO BOTH COASTS TO LEARN MORE. READY? MIXED MARTIAL ARTS. PART OF NIGEL MCCURRY’S MENTAL HEALTH CARE ROUTINE. OH, GNARLY. VERY NICE. IT’S BEEN A REALLY EXCELLENT WAY FOR ME TO BE ABLE TO RELEASE ANXIETY AND NERVOUS ENERGY. NIGEL WAS 21 WHEN HE JOINED THE MARINES IN 2003, AND WITHIN A YEAR WAS ON THE FRONT LINES OF THE WAR IN IRAQ EVERY DAY WE WERE GETTING SHOT AT GETTING INTO FIREFIGHTS AND THEN WHILE MANNING A TRAFFIC CHECKPOINT, A TERRIBLE ACCIDENT, A TRUCK APPEARING TO IGNORE SIGNALS TO STOP IT JUST KEPT COMING RIGHT AT US, RIGHT AT US. AND SO I STARTED TAKING SHOTS AT IT INSIDE A FAMILY, TWO LITTLE GIRLS KILLED BY THE GUNFIRE. IT WAS GIRLS. THEY DIDN’T THEY DIDN’T DESERVE THAT. WHAT HAPPENED? HAUNTED NIGEL FOR YEARS. BUT I TAKE YOUR MEDICINE. YES. OKAY. UNTIL NOW, HE ENROLLED IN THIS CLINICAL TRIAL STUDYING THE EFFECTS OF MDMA ASSISTED THERAPY ON PATIENTS WITH PTSD. MDMA KNOWN AS THE PARTY DRUG ECSTASY. THE TRIAL, INCLUDING TALK THERAPY. BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE DRUG SESSIONS. IT JUST FELT LIKE A LOT OF EMOTIONS THAT I’D BEEN HOLDING DOWN, NOT ALLOWING MYSELF TO FEEL OR JUST COMING UP TO THE SURFACE. TWO THIRDS OF THEM ADD TWO MONTH FOLLOW UP HAD LOST THEIR PTSD DIAGNOSIS, SAYS DR. CHRISTOPHER STAUFFER IS AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF PSYCHIATRY AT OREGON HEALTH AND SCIENCE UNIVERSITY, AN ADD IN MDMA TRIAL RESEARCHER IF YOU LOOK AT THE NEUROSCIENCE, IT SUPPORTS THIS IDEA THAT WE’RE INCREASING WAIITNG THE WINDOW OF TOLERANCE FOR SOMEONE TO GO INTO THEIR TRAUMA AND DO PSYCHOTHERAPY WORK THAT OTHERWISE WOULDN’T BE TOLERABLE ALL WITHOUT THE MDMA. AND AT JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, RESEARCHERS ARE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW PSILOCYBIN THE PSYCHEDELIC COMPOUND IN MAGIC MUSHROOMS CHANGES THE BRAIN WHEN PAIRED WITH PSYCHOTHERAPY. CLINICAL TRIALS SHOWING THE COMBINATION IS EFFECTIVE IN RELIEVING DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS FOR UP TO A YEAR. WE’RE FINDING EARLY EVIDENCE THAT PSYCHEDELICS MAY INCREASE A PERSON’S CAPACITY FOR COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY. COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY IS YOUR ABILITY TO THINK DIFFERENTLY ABOUT YOURSELF OR YOUR PLACE IN THE WORLD. YET RESEARCHERS CAUTION THEY’RE STILL MUCH MORE TO LEARN. I THINK THERE’S AN AWFUL LOT TO BE HOPEFUL FOR HERE, BUT WE’RE STILL VERY EARLY IN THE PROCESS AND WE HAVE NOT GATHERED ALL THE DATA THAT WE NEED TO KNOW SO THAT THIS IS TRULY SAFE AND HELPFUL FOR PEOPLE. THIS IS A FLAG THAT I FLEW OVER AFGHANISTAN, BUT VETERANS LIKE GIULIANA MERCER SAY THEY CAN’T AFFORD TO WAIT. THE FORMER MARINE WHO SAYS SHE HAD HER OWN PSYCHEDELIC BREAKTHROUGH. MY LIFE HAS CHANGED COMPLETELY NOW. COACHES, VETERANS SEEKING TREATMENT IN OTHER COUNTRIES WHERE MANY PSYCHEDELICS ARE LEGAL. HAVING SOMETHING THAT’S BEEN BEING USED FOR MILLENNIA BY OTHER CULTURES SAFELY TO HEAL FROM ALL DIFFERENT TYPES OF AILMENTS, TO INCLUDE MENTAL HEALTH IS A RISK THAT WE’RE WILLING TO TAKE. IT JUST RESET EVERYTHING. IT WAS LIKE A HARD DRIVE REBOOT IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA THAT REBOOT DRAMATICALLY IMPROVING LIFE FOR MARCUS AND AMBER CAPONES, THE RETIRED NAVY SEAL AMONG THOSE WHO TRAVELED TO MEXICO FOR PSYCHEDELIC HELP, 13 YEARS OF ACTIVE DUTY AND MULTIPLE DEPLOYMENTS HAD TAKEN A TOLL ON HIS MENTAL HEALTH. I WAS MORE AFRAID OF LOSING HIM HERE IN THE UNITED STATES TO HIS OWN HAND THAN I EVER WAS BY AN ENEMY OVERSEAS. WE HAVE TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX. WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING NEW. THE CAPONES AMONG THOSE NOW ADVOCATING FOR FEDERAL FUNDING FOR PSYCHEDELIC RESEARCH AND THEIR NONPROFIT SENDING NEARLY 1000 VETERANS OUT OF THE US FOR HELP. THESE ARE GETTING TO ROOT, ROOT CAUSE ISSUES THAT INDIVIDUALS ARE DEALING WITH AND BEING ABLE TO LIVE THEIR LIFE AGAIN. AND BETTER. YOU CAN DO IT LIVING LIFE AGAIN. FOR NIGEL MCCOURY, IT’S MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE. WHILE NOT A DAY GOES BY THAT HE DOESN’T THINK ABOUT IRAQ, I WAS ABLE TO REALLY HAVE COMPASSION FOR WHO I WAS WHEN I WAS IN THAT EXPERIENCE AND FORGI