Attitudes on Marijuana and Psychedelics as a Treatment Option for Veterans

Abstract

Many mental and physical health issues are prominent within the veteran community. Given the prevalence of health issues within the veteran community and the need for a wide range of treatment options, some researchers have started to explore whether and how veteran populations should have access to alternative treatment options such as marijuana and psychedelics. Additionally, some researchers have started to explore perceptions of alternative treatment options such as marijuana and psychedelics among military and veteran populations. Studies of veteran views on these issues, however, have not closely explored how veteran perspectives on certain drug issues compare directly to those in their immediate and broader community. Consequently, the current study sought to examine differences in attitudes towards marijuana and psychedelics as treatment options among veterans, family members of veterans, and non-military individuals. Our results indicated that a sizeable majority of respondents supported the use of marijuana as a treatment option, and that many respondents supported the use of psychedelics as a treatment option. That said, the results of this study also indicated that active and veteran military personnel remain somewhat less supportive in their viewpoints about use of historically illicit drugs as a medical treatment when compared to their family members and the general population.

Note:

Funding Information: No external funding was secured to support this project.

Conflict of Interests: The authors declare no financial or other conflicts of interest.

Ethical Approval: The project was IRB approved through Ohio State University (IRB application 2023E0244). The study was determined to be exempt research as the data was recorded without direct or indirect identifiers and because disclosure of any of the collected information would present minimal risk or harm to the survey respondents. Informed consent was obtained following IRB approved procedures.

Keywords: Medical marijuana, psychedelics, veterans, attitudes on treatment options, substance use policies, therapeutic access, military personnel, alternative treatment options, family members of veterans, military community