As a Marine in Iraq, Gary Hess faced unimaginable trauma, loss, and physical pain. He lost brothers in arms, his peace of mind, and his connection to both his body and the world around him. In search of relief, he turned to traditional Western medicine, only to find himself prescribed addictive pharmaceuticals—medications that contributed to the growing suicide rates among veterans. Struggling with PTSD, a traumatic brain injury (TBI), and chronic pain, Gary hit a breaking point where he almost gave up.
In one last push, Gary sought out alternative therapies, including psychedelics, and found healing. This transformative experience led him to the work he does today—advocating for integrative treatments for veterans and trauma survivors.
As the founder of the Veterans Alliance for Holistic Alternatives (VAHA), Gary works to provide veterans with access to evidence-based, holistic care, including medical cannabis. He’s also the CEO of Teleleaf, a telemedicine platform connecting patients to cannabis doctors, and a partner at Warrior Tribe Assembly, which provides online coaching and an in-person psychedelic-assisted retreat. His ultimate mission is to create a supportive environment for veterans, where traditional treatments often fail.
I recently met Gary at the Hero’s Journey Symposium in Washington, D.C., hosted by the John P. Mayhugh Foundation, where he spoke on a panel. His personal story, deep dedication to helping others, and expertise in the psychedelic treatment space left a strong impression on me.
Less than a year earlier, while advocating for mental health solutions for moral injury on Capitol Hill, several staff members had asked me about psychedelic treatments. At the time, I didn’t have any information, but I could sense a growing interest in the topic, which sparked my curiosity to learn more from someone with firsthand experience.
In the following interview, Gary reflects on his journey with various therapies, from traditional pharmaceuticals to alternative methods like meditation and psychedelics. We dive into the neurological, psychological, and legislative aspects of these treatments, including the impact of different types of psychedelics.
With growing legislative interest in psychedelic research, including recent developments on Capitol Hill, Gary emphasizes forging connections and the need for ongoing research, open dialogue, and an unwavering commitment to providing access to the best possible care.
Ultimately, Gary sees psychedelic-assisted therapies as a key piece of the puzzle in addressing the mental health crisis facing those who have served.
Learn more about VAHA: https://www.vahahealth.com/
For those who prefer to read a condensed transcript of the interview, text is provided below the following video.
Jessica: I know there’s a lot going on with regulation and legislation right now around psychedelic treatments, especially for the veteran community, and you spoke so eloquently at the Hero’s Journey Symposium about your personal journey that led to the work you do today with the Veterans Alliance for Holistic Alternatives (VAHA). Tell me a bit about that journey and how it led you to establishing VAHA?
Gary: The perspective I bring comes from what I call the gift of struggle. I’m able to share it the way I do because of the journey I’ve been on. I came home from my military service and sought answers, but they weren’t easily found. That struggle, the search for answers, led me to a place I never imagined: here, having this conversation and exploring different healing modalities.
I come from a military background—specifically as an infantry officer in the Marine Corps. But to really understand the full perspective I speak from, it’s important to know a bit about where I grew up. I was raised in a very conservative community in the deep South, in Louisiana, where attitudes toward things like cannabis and psychedelics were deeply negative. These substances were demonized, and if I ever talked about them, or worse, was caught using them, I’d face harsh consequences from my family. My grandfather and father would literally punish me.
These were the stigmas surrounding cannabis: it had no medical value, it was addictive, it was a 'gateway drug.' Most of us in my generation grew up in the 'Just Say No' era with these deeply embedded beliefs.
I was also very active in athletics growing up, played college baseball, and then joined the military, both enlisting and later becoming an officer. That’s where my real struggle began. I had multiple deployments, many of them highly kinetic, with a lot of loss of life, particularly in Iraq.
But the one event that really changed everything for me was in December 2006, when a truck filled with explosives detonated right next to the house we were occupying. My body had no way to process what happened that day, and it marked the beginning of the end of my military career.
Gary, left, during his service in the Marine Corps
After transitioning out of the military, I sought help through the VA and private practices, but the answers I got were ineffective, to say the least. After a decade of trying everything, my lowest point came when I considered ending my own life—not out of impulse, but because I honestly felt I had exhausted every option and was mentally and physically drained. My existence felt like a burden to those around me, and I couldn’t connect with anyone, not even myself. I was completely lost.
Jessica: What was the turning point that led you to explore the use of psychedelic treatments?
Gary: After all the frustration I just mentioned, I crossed a line I never thought I would: I tried a substance [cannabis] that was illegal in my state at the time. The results were nothing short of life-changing. This medicine gave me the relief, hope, and tools I had been searching for. It allowed me to begin working intentionally on my trauma, digging deeper into my experiences and understanding how they affected me. I started with cannabis, and it opened the door to healing.
Jessica: What other treatments did you try over the years? What worked and what didn’t work?
Gary: In terms of traditional therapies, I went through a lot of different approaches: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), prolonged exposure, EMDR. Many of these were ineffective, especially for someone with the level of trauma I had. They didn't address the deeply embedded issues I was carrying in my body, and relapse rates were high. Western medicine, with its focus on pharmaceuticals and surgeries, just wasn’t the right approach for me.
In 2016, cannabis was still illegal in Louisiana, but I turned it into a tool for healing. It gave me the breathing space I needed. PTSD is often fear-based and comes from a hyperactive amygdala and underactive prefrontal cortex. These two parts of the brain aren’t communicating properly, which triggers a survival response—hyperarousal. Cannabis helped reverse that stress response, bringing me back to the present moment for the first time in years. I could observe my thoughts and feelings without being hijacked by them.
I started using cannabis intentionally, for example, going into situations that triggered anxiety, like a restaurant, and retraining my body and mind to recognize that these situations were not threats. Over time, cannabis helped me reframe my responses and reduced the hyperarousal that had been controlling my life.
Jessica: It sounds like cannabis helped you regain some control over your body’s automatic responses. Did you try anything else after that?
Gary: Yes, after a couple of years of working with cannabis, I realized there were still unresolved issues, and cannabis alone wasn’t enough. I had been doing my research into psychedelic-assisted therapies, especially after watching a documentary about ayahuasca in 2018. But at the time, the only way to access these treatments was to leave the country, which brought up a lot of fear for me, especially considering my past military experiences. But in 2021, I finally decided to try psychedelic-assisted therapy within the U.S., through a platform that combined different plant medicines.
I started with combo (the venom of an Amazonian tree frog), followed by psilocybin and bufo alvarius, which is a natural form of 5-MeO-DMT. The combination was incredibly powerful. It opened emotional pathways that I didn’t even realize were closed. For the first time in years, I felt real sensations in my body—warmth in my shins, my chest, my forearms. It was so foreign to me that I actually panicked because it felt unsafe. But that was a turning point. It was as if my body had been numb for so long, and these therapies helped me reconnect to it.
Jessica: It seems like these therapies have had a profound impact on your healing. Would you say these treatments helped you heal, and are you still using them today?
Gary: Yes, absolutely. These therapies gave me the emotional breakthroughs I needed. They helped me reconnect with parts of myself that had been buried deep for years. I’ve now integrated these tools into my work, helping others through intentional cannabis use and psychedelic-assisted therapies. Through conscious cannabis ceremonies and combining cannabis with breathwork, I guide people toward a deeper, more connected sense of self. It's about reframing the perspective that drives our automatic thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.
VAHA holds its first public presentation on the benefits of cannabis and how it can be used to facilitate recovery, stability, and post-traumatic growth (c. 2021)
I also focus on reconnecting individuals with their communities, because I believe that's where true healing happens—through reconnection with self and others. These therapies aren’t a magic fix, but they are incredibly effective when combined with intention and support. And that's the work I’m dedicated to now: helping others reclaim their lives, just as I’ve been able to do.
Jessica: It sounds like you disconnected from your body at some point — stopped feeling certain things — and then reconnecting with those sensations was probably a shock to your system.
Putting aside trauma for a moment, I've spoken with people who served in places like Afghanistan, in the desert, where the physical discomfort was constant. Your body suffers a lot. People don’t just come back with mental health issues; they often have physical health issues, too.
To get through that constant discomfort, you almost have to disconnect your mind from your body. But the real challenge comes when you can't reconnect your mind and body once you return to civilian life. And at the same time, you learn to embrace that suffering.
Gary: Right, exactly. It's part of the service. It’s about discipline. You don't necessarily disconnect from the suffering; you learn to accept it. That’s the opposite of what happens when you come home, where you’re taught to avoid discomfort at all costs.
Military training teaches you to suppress emotions—vulnerability, kindness, and empathy are seen as weaknesses. This mindset becomes ingrained. But when you start reconnecting with your body, it’s a completely different experience. I didn’t truly understand the mind-body disconnect until I experienced it firsthand.
When disconnected, you think you're in control, but you’re not. It leads to hyperarousal, intrusive thoughts, and disrupts basic functions like sleep, eating, digestion, memory, and emotional regulation. Your autonomic nervous system gets stuck in an elevated state, creating allostatic load—wear and tear on your system.
Reconnecting with your body is about reintegrating the mind and soul, becoming whole again. The first step for me was learning the tools and using myself as a guinea pig in my own healing process. I had to experience it to truly understand.
As I healed, I saw the gaps in traditional methods. Psychedelic-assisted therapies address the mental, moral, and spiritual dimensions of trauma. Unlike conventional clinical approaches, these therapies don’t tell you what’s wrong—they let your body guide the process. By taking the default mode network offline, psychedelics open critical learning periods, offering a non-dualistic perspective that can unlock emotional pathways inaccessible through traditional therapy.
The breakthrough happens when we combine these tools with the clinical model. Together, they can heal at a deeper level, not just manage symptoms. These methods help people truly heal, not just cope.
Jessica: Yet, there’s still a stigma around psychedelic treatments—especially when they’re used recreationally, which often leads to negative outcomes. But when used in the right context, like the healing space you’re talking about, the results can be transformative.
Gary: Right, and that's a big part of the challenge—understanding the experience of someone who hasn't tried these treatments. I never needed them myself until I started to understand the internal experience others were going through.
Jessica: You mentioned earlier about needing "breathing space" to process the overwhelming physical sensations and responses triggered by trauma. There’s something really powerful in reconnecting to your body—feeling that warmth, feeling grounded.
A Marine veteran I spoke to a few months ago in Texas shared something similar. He’d been exposed to some truly horrific events while serving in the Middle East, including the loss of allies in Afghanistan who were tortured and executed. The hatred he witnessed there was extreme, and it colored his perception of the world.
He said that when he tried psychedelics, particularly psilocybin, he experienced an overwhelming sense of love. After being surrounded by so much hatred, he was pulled in the opposite direction. That flood of love helped him let go of the anger that had been consuming him for years. It was a complete shift—like the anger just melted away.
*Author’s Note: To learn more, check out my recent interview with Tim Jensen on the American Grit podcast here.
Gary: That’s actually incredibly common. It’s one of the reasons I think we’re missing the mark with PTSD treatments, especially when it comes to moral injury. We lose the ability to feel self-compassion. Even once the fear and hyperarousal are reduced, the deeper layers of shame, guilt, and moral injury remain.
I often compare it to a dog that’s been hit by a car. Even though it’s still alive, it’s hurt and it’s going to bite you because it doesn’t want to be hurt again. Our emotional system is the same way. We’ve been wounded so deeply that we respond with anger and fear—emotions that push people away. It leads to isolation and avoidance because we don't know how to handle the deeper feelings of shame, guilt, and betrayal. Our default response becomes anger—but we don’t know why.
Understanding the anger, and the physiological and psychological reasons behind it, is key. One big reason we feel anger is because we don't know how to love ourselves. We don’t have self-compassion. We can’t hold space for our own pain, and so we get stuck in a hyper-aroused state. Anger is a way of regaining control, but it always ends up in outbursts followed by regret—and the cycle repeats itself over and over.
Jessica: It's like anger is the surface emotion, but underneath it, there’s so much more.
Gary: Yes, exactly. It wasn’t until my third journey that I truly started to address the grief I’d been carrying. The first journey helped me process a lot of the combat trauma, but then I realized there was a whole lot more underneath, especially from my childhood. These tools allow you to dig deeper, to get beyond the anger, fear, and sadness, and face the grief that your body has been holding. For me, it took two years to finally sit with that grief. It was there all along, beneath the surface, waiting to be acknowledged.
Jessica: They say knowledge is power, but I think self-knowledge is just as powerful.
Gary: Yeah, I couldn’t agree more.
Jessica: Currently, the U.S. military does not approve psychedelic treatments for brain disorders, including PTSD, for active service members. The Department of Defense has strict regulations on controlled substances, and although research into psychedelics for therapeutic use is ongoing, these substances are still classified as illegal under federal law.
Some veterans and researchers are advocating for psychedelics' potential benefits, but any adoption would require significant clinical trials and regulatory changes before they can be integrated into military healthcare. From your perspective, what are the potential benefits and risks of allowing psychedelic treatments for active service members?
Gary: The benefits are clear: deep emotional healing, reduced reliance on addictive medications, and a holistic approach to healing that includes the mind, body, and spirit. These treatments offer alternatives to traditional methods that have often proven ineffective. Psychedelics can benefit active-duty personnel in the same way they’ve been helping veterans and others outside the military community.
VAHA urges SC Senate to support medical freedom at the heart of SCCCA (c. 2022)
However, there are risks. From my experience, the military invests heavily in shaping soldiers’ minds, habits, and instincts to perform their duties. Part of that process involves suppressing or controlling emotions to function in high-stress environments. Introducing psychedelics into this mindset could potentially unravel some of the mental frameworks that make soldiers effective in their roles.
That said, for those transitioning out of active duty, and even for those currently serving who have faced traumatic experiences, psychedelic therapies—especially MDMA—could offer incredible therapeutic benefits. MDMA, for example, helps reduce fear responses, enabling deep emotional exploration in ways not possible without altering the state of consciousness.
But the biggest risk right now is not the psychedelics themselves, but the military’s inaction in providing more comprehensive options for healing. Veterans have long been advocating for better treatment, but there’s still resistance to embracing new methods. If we continue to ignore the need for change, the crisis will only worsen.
Jessica: There’s a scenario that really confuses me. I’ve heard from several veterans who returned from deployment describing symptoms that sound like clear cases of PTSD or TBI, but instead of receiving appropriate treatment, they were prescribed Adderall and Xanax for issues like hyper-vigilance and trouble focusing.
These medications are not only addictive, especially Xanax, but they’re also just a band-aid solution that eventually backfire. Why, when we know so much about PTSD and TBIs, are veterans being prescribed medications that clearly don’t address the root causes of their symptoms?
Gary: The VA is short 73,000 mental health professionals, leaving a huge gap in care. Meanwhile, the pharmaceutical industry heavily influences policymaking—84% of policymakers have financial ties to it—shaping treatment options.
Cannabis industry titans and VAHA collaborate to drive the safe banking act forward; Gary, second to left (c. 2023)
Western medicine often focuses on symptom suppression rather than true healing. This creates long-term customers dependent on medication, fostering a profitable cycle for the pharmaceutical industry. The system is built around managing chronic conditions, not resolving them.
What if, instead of handing out Adderall, Xanax, and SSRIs, veterans had access to treatments like psychedelic-assisted therapy? With proper preparation and support, veterans could experience real healing, reducing their need for medication and improving their well-being.
There’s a difference between “doctoring” and “healing.” The current model focuses on managing symptoms, not addressing trauma’s root causes. For example, veterans often get the “combat cocktail” of Adderall, Ambien, and painkillers, which doesn’t address trauma and can worsen the problem. Misdiagnoses like multiple personality disorder or bipolar disorder often stem from trauma, not mental illness.
True healing comes when veterans are given the chance to process and release their trauma, not when they’re prescribed another pill.
Jessica: It’s heartbreaking to hear. So, what’s missing in all this? What needs to change?
Gary: The mind-body connection is essential for healing. Trauma doesn’t just happen to us; it stays with us, and we can’t heal without an empathetic witness—someone who listens and validates our experience. Without that support, trauma remains trapped, causing ongoing suffering.
The real issue is moral injury, often missing from the conversation around PTSD. Veterans struggle not only with psychological trauma but also with moral conflict and disillusionment. This crisis can’t be solved by pills alone; it needs communal reconciliation, peer support, and shared understanding from those who’ve lived through similar experiences.
The current system, focused on symptom suppression, isn’t working. We urgently need a more holistic approach to healing. Veterans carry immense emotional and mental burdens after service, often left to face them alone. But in ceremonies—often dismissed as “woo-woo”—healing happens. These rituals, which bring together people with shared trauma, offer a safe space to release pain and heal.
Gary today with his family
This communal approach is absent from Western medicine, which is why the organizations promoting these practices aren’t just for veterans. Trauma is trauma, regardless of who experiences it. Right now, the voices of lawmakers—especially conservative ones—are the ones that seem to be getting through. That’s largely because we’re talking about a relatively small segment of the population—the ones who have served—dealing with a huge, life-altering issue. This is a critical cohort to study.
Jessica: There’s a lot the civilian world can learn from the trauma and recovery process veterans go through. It’s why we need to share those stories, especially stories of moral injury, so that people in the civilian world can learn from them.
You’re advocating for treatments that don’t just work for veterans, but could benefit all of society. That’s a compelling argument, especially when you’re speaking to lawmakers—this isn’t just a narrow issue. It affects a much broader swath of the population.
By the way, studies consistently show that group therapy is often far more effective for healing moral injury than individual therapy. Of course, it depends on the individual, and some people do prefer the privacy of one-on-one sessions. But overwhelming evidence shows that people heal more effectively from moral injury when they share the experience with others who have walked a similar path.
Gary: What we're doing—whether in group therapy or in these healing ceremonies—creates an environment of safety and shared experience. The energy in the group, the sense of connectedness, makes all the difference. These aren't just “talk therapy” sessions; they're transformational experiences. And when you combine this communal healing with tools like psychedelic-assisted therapy, the results are night and day.
Healing moral injury through group work is about communal reconciliation. It's about authenticity, acceptance, and gaining agency over our lives. Dr. Gabor Maté talks about this process all the time. This approach—accepting and embracing people for who they are, not for who we want them to be—lays the foundation for healing. But that's what's missing in the current system.
Jessica: Let’s pivot to the legislative side of things, because this is an area where stigma is still very strong. Some people resist even considering psychedelic-assisted therapy because of preconceived notions or cultural barriers.
As you know, legalization and regulation are key steps in changing this narrative. You've spent a lot of time on Capitol Hill working on this. In 2024, the National Defense Authorization Act allowed the Pentagon to study the use of psychedelics within the military.
Can you explain why there’s suddenly interest from the government in studying psychedelics, and what’s happening on Capitol Hill with regard to potential legislation?
Gary: The “why” has become very clear over the last decade or two. More service members and civilians are seeking mental health treatment than ever before. But despite the increase in treatment, the numbers continue to rise. Suicide rates, opioid overdoses—none of these numbers are improving. In fact, they’re getting worse. If treatments were effective, we’d expect those numbers to decline, but they haven’t. This is a glaring sign that the conventional treatments just aren’t working. Consider these statistics:
60% of veterans undergoing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or prolonged exposure therapy experience no meaningful improvement. These are considered the gold standard treatments.
Only 20-30% of individuals treated with SSRIs (antidepressants) experience significant symptom reduction.
On the other hand, studies on psilocybin (the active compound in magic mushrooms) show that in a single session, 80% of cancer patients experience a significant reduction in depression and anxiety symptoms.
For major depressive disorder, a single psilocybin session results in a 71% reduction in symptoms that can last for 6 to 12 months.
The results are clear: conventional treatments are failing, and psychedelic-assisted therapies are showing significant promise. Over the past two decades, more than 7,000 service members have died in combat, but in that same period, over 240,000 veterans have died by suicide or pharmaceutical overdose.
Two years ago, the Military Times published an article revealing that the military wasn’t even counting pharmaceutical overdoses in the suicide statistics—those numbers are likely double what we thought. It's a crisis, and it’s not going away.
The numbers don't lie. The treatment options we're using simply aren’t working, and it's time to consider new alternatives.
Jessica: What are some of the latest developments on Capitol Hill?
Gary: There are a couple of important bills pushing for change. The Breakthrough Therapies Act is one of them. It’s a crucial piece of legislation that calls for moving psychedelic-assisted therapies—once they’re designated as breakthrough treatments by the FDA—into a Schedule II category. This would allow for more affordable research and open doors for better access to these therapies. Right now, because psychedelics are classified as Schedule I narcotics, research is incredibly expensive and difficult to conduct. This bill aims to clear those barriers.
Another important bill is the Douglas Mike Day Psychedelic Assisted Therapy Save Lives Act, which was introduced by Rep. Dan Crenshaw. It’s one of the first bills to attach psychedelic-assisted therapy as a holistic treatment option in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bill includes funding for clinical trials to test the efficacy of these treatments. It’s an exciting development because it represents a real opportunity to bring these therapies into the mainstream for military service members.
These bills are part of a larger push from organizations like the Veterans Mental Health Leadership Coalition, which is led by retired General Martin Steele. This group is working tirelessly to advocate for the use of psychedelic-assisted therapies based on the proven benefits they’ve seen in veterans and other groups.
Jessica: That’s incredible progress. What would you say to someone who wants to get involved in this movement?
Gary: First, reach out to someone who has personal experience with trauma or mental health struggles. Advocate for yourself and your health. I spent the first few years after coming home trapped in the belief that the Western medical model and pharmaceuticals were the only solution. They do offer short-term relief, but they don’t address the root causes of trauma, and they certainly aren’t a long-term fix.
If you’re considering psychedelic-assisted therapy, make sure to work with a vetted, reputable organization, and be prepared to put in the work on the integration side. These therapies offer the roadmap to healing, but it’s up to you to follow it. Healing takes work, and these aren’t magic pills.
Be your own advocate. Explore your options. Ask the tough questions: Is it safe? Is it effective? Is it efficient for you? I’ve found that the answer is yes. And if it’s possible for me—a regular person who has gone through a lot of hardship—then it’s possible for anyone.
* * *
About Jessica Lauren Walton: Jessica is a communications strategist, video producer, and writer in the U.S. defense sector. She has written articles on a range of security and mental health topics and conducted interviews with military leadership, CIA officers, law enforcement, psychologists, filmmakers, and more. Jessica recently completed her memoir about her experience as an American woman struggling with mental illness while trying to get into Israeli intelligence.
Sign up to receive regular blog pieces to your inbox and notification of the memoir release here.
Comments