Former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema turned up in her old stomping grounds today to ask lawmakers to fund research into an African plant that could be used to treat veterans suffering from traumatic brain injuries.
Sinema asked lawmakers to pass House Bill 2871, which would give $5 million in state funds to pay for a clinical research study of ibogaine, a psychoactive compound found in a central African plant that may be able to treat depression and other symptoms associated with traumatic brain injuries.
Ibogaine is currently listed as a schedule 1 drug by the U.S. government alongside narcotics like heroin, LSD and marijuana, meaning it can’t be used for treatment purposes.
But proponents of the bill argue ibogaine, which is legal in Canada and Mexico, can have positive impacts on veterans with TBIs. A Stanford Medicine study published last year concluded that the medicine “effectively reduces PTSD, anxiety and depression and improves functioning in veterans with TBI.”
“It changed my life when I learned about this medicine, because I saw the impact that it has, which no other medicine does in the world right now, on changing their lives and allowing them to really live,” Sinema said.
John Soden, an Army Ranger who served two deployments overseas between 2015 and 2020, told lawmakers he suffered injuries related to firing rocket launchers, using explosives and hard landings during airborne operations.
“I eventually noticed I started to process things differently,” he said. “This included short term memory loss followed by a lot of rage due to not understanding any of it.”
Soden said he experienced short term memory loss, migraines and mood swings while transitioning out of the military, and he initially felt lost before discovering ibogaine while listening to a podcast.
“You’re staring at someone who got a second chance in life because of that medicine,” said Soden, who is now pursuing a psychology degree at Arizona State University.
If it passes, the bill would require the money be given to an organization that can match the state’s investment with an additional $5 million in grants or other funding from donors other than the state.
HB 2871 passed the Arizona House Appropriations Committee with some bipartisan support.
“The goal of the ask is simple: Make Arizona the hub of a revolutionary treatment to help our veterans and save them from becoming a stat in my bill from five years ago,” Rep. Justin Wilmeth (R-Phoenix) said, referring to a bill he sponsored five years ago to improve reporting on veteran suicides.
Several Democrats chose not to vote for or against n the bill over concerns that the provisions of the bill do not require the investment to stay in Arizona.
“And as much as we need this funding, I think this is a federal government our federal government needs to take much better care of our veterans and service people,” Rep. Nancy Gutierrez (D-Tucson) said.
Sinema, who said she was supporting the bill as a private citizen, not a paid lobbyist, said it’s appropriate for the state to fund the clinical research because “there is no major pharmaceutical company to bankroll this effort and then make billions on the back end.
“This is a plant, and so there's not like a company that's making billions of dollars off of this,” Sinema said, though she said it is not known whether the state would be able to recover its investment if ibogaine became more widely available as a result of the state-funded research.
“Yet,” said Rep. Stacey Travers (D-Tempe), a veteran, who ultimately voted in favor of the bill.
Sinema said she will be back at the Legislature to support the bill if it makes it to the Arizona Senate but has no plans to back other legislation at the Arizona Capitol.
Since leaving office, Sinema has joined an advisory council put together by cryptocurrency coinbase, according to Politico, and she said she “loves what Jeff is doing,” referring to Republican Rep. Jeff Wenninger (R-Chandler), who has run several crypto bills in Arizona.
But she said she has no plans to officially support any of the myriad of cryptocurrency bills making their way through the state Legislature.
“Not a lobbyist,” she said. “Just here because I care about this.”
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Kyrsten Sinema's name.
