Veterans have become unlikely lobbyists in push to legalize psychedelic drugs – By Andrew Jacobs (The New York Times Company) / Nov 16 2021
APPLE VALLEY, Calif. — Jose Martinez, a former Army gunner whose right arm and both legs were blown off by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, has a new calling: He has become one of the most effective lobbyists in a campaign to legalize the therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs across the country.
On a Zoom call this spring with Connie Leyva, a Democratic legislator in California who has long opposed relaxing drug laws, Martinez told her how psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient in “magic” mushrooms, had helped to finally quell the physical pain and suicidal thoughts that had tormented him.
Leyva says she changed her mind even before the call ended, and she later voted yes on the bill, which is expected to become law early next year.
“We ask these men and women to go fight for our freedoms,” she said in an interview. “So if this is something that is helping them live a more normal life, I feel like I shouldn’t stand in the way.”
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