ALEC Veterans and Military Affairs Task Force Director Zachary Federico testified before the Ohio House Ibogaine Treatment Study Committee on research going into emerging therapy treatments for veterans.
Chairman Pizzulli, Vice Chairman Huffman, and Members of the Committee,
My name is Zach Federico, and I serve as the Director of the Veterans and Military Affairs Task Force at the American Legislative Exchange Council. Thank you for the opportunity to share ALEC’s nonpartisan research and analysis as you study this important issue.
ALEC is the nation’s largest nonpartisan, voluntary membership organization of state legislators dedicated to the principles of limited government, free markets, and federalism. The ALEC Veterans and Military Affairs Task Force includes more than 100 state legislators and private-sector leaders who collaborate to develop model policies that support our nation’s veterans, servicemembers, and military families. In December, the ALEC Veterans and Military Affairs Task Force voted unanimously to adopt the Veterans Mental Health Innovations Act as model policy.
This policy is a template for participating in a multistate research effort to conduct clinical trials for the use of ibogaine. And now, thanks to President Trump’s executive order from a few weeks ago, the federal government is joining these state efforts to fast-track research into these emerging treatments.
This year, 14 states have introduced legislation to fund research into ibogaine. Among those, Louisiana and New Hampshire have passed it through one chamber; Oklahoma, Tennessee, and West Virginia have passed it through both chambers; and Kentucky and Mississippi have already adopted it as law.
These efforts represent a broad national movement to support emerging treatments for veterans who are struggling. Unfortunately, traditional treatments for service-related mental health conditions are limited at best. Using PTSD as an example, trauma-focused therapy, the VA’s recommended first-line treatment, has an estimated dropout rate of 27.1%. For those who complete the treatment, around 50% still meet diagnostic criteria for PTSD.
Second-line treatments involving FDA-recommended medications only achieve remission in about 20-30% of patients and often cause adverse side effects. This reality has led many veterans to seek alternative treatments, including ibogaine-assisted therapy, in countries where it is not regulated.
In many cases, the results have been life changing. There is no shortage of anecdotal stories from veterans who have experienced complete remission from PTSD and other neurological conditions after a single session with ibogaine.
In 2024, Stanford Medicine published a study that found an 88 percent reduction in PTSD symptoms for combat veterans after a single session. While encouraging, these results demand deeper, more rigorous investigation.
These developments have spurred state legislators across the country into action, and state governments are working together to fund these clinical trials. By joining this national effort, Ohio can help deliver real hope to veterans by advancing responsible, evidence-based research.