ALEC Policy Champions Advance Research on Emerging Treatments for Veterans Mental Health

ALEC is proud to recognize Sens. Donald Douglas, Stephen Meredith, Aaron Reed, and Shelley Funke Frommeyer, Reps. Ken Fleming and Bobby McCool, and Senate President Robert Stivers as ALEC Policy Champions for their successful effort to establish a framework for conducting clinical trials with ibogaine-based treatments in Kentucky.

SB 77 adds Kentucky to a multistate research effort to conduct clinical trials evaluating ibogaine as an investigational treatment. The law reflects the ALEC model Veterans Mental Health Innovations Act, which has been signed into law in Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Tennessee this year. Similar legislation also passed in Texas and Arizona in 2025.

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 not effective for all veterans. This reality has led many 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. On April 18^th, President Trump signed an Executive Order that reduces federal barriers to research and partners with states to support these clinical trials.

Congratulations to Sens. Donald Douglas, Stephen Meredith, Aaron Reed, and Shelley Funke Frommeyer, Reps. Ken Fleming and Bobby McCool, and Senate President Robert Stivers for contributing to this important multistate effort on behalf of our nation’s veterans.