Pα+ Psychedelic Bulletin #216: Australia's Psychedelics-for-Veterans Funding; New Mexico Targets 2026 Medical Psilocybin Launch; Radial Scores $50M; Otsuka's "Novel Serotonergic Agonists"; Psilocybin Accelerates Brain Tumour Growth in Mice; Texas' $50M Ibogaine Study Consortium
- Australia’s Department of Veterans’ Affairs Explains World-First Funding Model for Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy
- New Mexico Targets December 2026 for Medical Psilocybin Launch
- Otsuka Publicly Signals Work on “Psychedelic-Inspired” CNS Compounds
- Psilocybin Promotes Growth of Existing Brain Tumours in Mice, Preprint Study Reports
- Radial Scores $50M, Eyes Interventional Psychiatry—and Psychedelics
- State of Texas Awards $50M to Ibogaine Study Consortium
- Fireside Project Unveils AI Chatbot Aimed at Training Psychedelic Practitioners
- Czech Medical Body Drafts Guidelines for Psilocybin Therapy, Targets 2026 Launch
Australia’s Department of Veterans’ Affairs Explains World-First Funding Model for Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy
Last week, the Australian Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) shared a clinical briefing webinar it hosted for Authorised Prescribers to discuss its reimbursement program for psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP).
As we covered in Bulletin 213, Australia’s DVA has become the first body of its kind in the world to agree to fund PAP after the Repatriation Commission and Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission authorised the move. Under the model, PAP includes psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and PTSD, which is available to certain veterans who have attempted multiple conventional treatment options.
During the clinical briefing, Associate Professor Jon Lane, who assumed the new position of DVA Chief Psychiatrist in Spring, shared more details about the program. Below are our notes from the call.
‘The World is Watching’
Lane was keen, throughout the call, to emphasise the world-first nature of the funding model and to call on his fellow psychiatrists to administer PAP responsibly. He retains ultimate sign-off authority on each and every PAP funding application form that is submitted.
DVA is not legally able to fund things considered experimental or otherwise, he explained, though he later noted that, “realistically, [psychedelics] could be considered experimental still at this stage, as they are in the rest of the world.”
In a direct plea to colleagues, Lane said...
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