Innovative behavioral health treatment is one step closer to FDA clinical trials here in Tennessee

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Yesterday, the Tennessee General Assembly fully passed The Helping Open Pathways to Effective (HOPE) Treatment Act (HB 2075 | SB 2149), establishing the legal foundation for Tennessee researchers, clinicians, and institutions to participate in federally authorized ibogaine clinical trials. This meaningful step forward removes state-level liability barriers that could have blocked participation in Tennessee. In practical terms, it positions the state to engage seriously with an area of behavioral health research that has drawn growing, and increasingly credible, interest from veterans, clinicians, and policymakers across the country. 

For TN Voices, passage reflects over a year of sustained work to move an unfamiliar issue into serious policy consideration. This work began in partnership with Americans for Ibogaine. Our goals involved educating stakeholders and elevating the voices of veterans with lived experience, which created the conditions for a credible conversation around a treatment that, until recently, sat outside the mainstream of Tennessee’s policy landscape. TN Voices has spent four decades following the evidence wherever it leads on behalf of the Tennessee families, children, and adults we serve. When the evidence on ibogaine became difficult to ignore, the organization’s response was not to wait for the conversation to become comfortable. It was to lead.  

“As CEO of TN Voices and Ambassador for Americans for Ibogaine, this moment is both deeply personal and one of the most meaningful efforts of my career. I am profoundly grateful to the veterans, advocates, and lawmakers who came together with courage and determination to create a pathway for ibogaine trials in Tennessee. This progress would not have been possible without their leadership and commitment to Tennesseans in need.” 

— Rikki Harris 

Chief Executive Officer, TN Voices | Ambassador, Americans for Ibogaine 

Central to this effort were veterans who chose to speak publicly and directly about their own experience. Shawn Ryan, Tommy Aceto, and Alex West brought to the Capitol something no policy argument can manufacture: the unambiguous testimony of men who had exhausted every available option, found something that worked, and refused to keep that knowledge to themselves. Advocates with medical and clinical expertise, including Dr. Bill Dennis and Geoff Lawrence, helped translate early research into terms that lawmakers could engage with by contextualizing ibogaine’s effects on neuroplasticity and what that science could mean for conditions that have resisted treatment for decades.  

Together, these advocates, and many others, made all the difference in getting the HOPE Treatment Act passed.  

The legislation also required political courage. Sen. Page Walley and Rep. Bryan Terry sponsored a bill with little precedent in Tennessee, on a subject that was new, complex, and not without risk; and they carried it anyway. Veteran Caucus leaders pushed it across the finish line in the final days of session. Advocates with national profiles, including Shawn Ryan, lent their credibility to the cause to ensure legislators understood what was at stake. 

“I recognize the political risk state legislators face in championing alternative medicine, particularly in a state with Tennessee’s conservative tradition. That courage deserves acknowledgment. Thank you for the open-mindedness to explore innovative, evidence emerging approaches to some of our most persistent and devastating conditions: addiction, PTSD, and traumatic brain injury.”

— Shawn Ryan

U.S. Navy SEAL veteran, Former CIA contractor, and Host of the Shawn Ryan Show

 

“I want to sincerely thank the Tennessee legislators, especially the bill sponsors and the Veteran Caucus leaders, who had the courage to step forward and support this effort. I truly believe this work can transform mental health care for veterans and their families because I’ve lived it. I’m especially grateful to Rikki Harris and TN Voices for their leadership and unwavering commitment to this mission.”

— Tommy Aceto

U.S. Navy SEAL veteran and ibogaine treatment advocate

 

“As a SEAL and as a therapist, I have seen what happens when veterans run out of options. I have lived it. Ibogaine is not a cure and it is not a miracle, it is a serious treatment that serious science is beginning to validate, and Tennessee veterans deserve access to it. Today the state said so. I am grateful to every lawmaker who had the courage to hear us out and act.”

— Alex West

U.S. Navy SEAL veteran, licensed therapist, and ibogaine treatment advocate

All of this comes on the heels of the White House’s executive order, Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness, issued just days before the House vote. The order directs federal agencies to expedite research and access to psychedelic therapies, including ibogaine, and identifies veterans as a priority population. It allocates $50 million through the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to match state investments in psychedelic research, establishes a Right to Try pathway for eligible patients, and directs HHS, FDA, and the VA to collaborate with the private sector to expand clinical trial participation. 

Tennessee did not wait for that signal. The HOPE Treatment Act had already cleared the Senate when the executive order landed. The House’s action completes that argument. Tennessee is not catching up to federal momentum. It helped create the conditions for it. 

Passage alone does not guarantee participation. Legal permission does not build research infrastructure. The next phase is implementation: whether Tennessee institutions step forward to engage the federal research frameworks the executive order advances, whether the ARPA-H matching fund opportunity is pursued seriously, and whether this legislative foundation translates into actual clinical research capacity for the veterans and families who drove this effort. The federal government has signaled where it is going. Tennessee has established the legal authority to go there. TN Voices will work to ensure the state does not leave that opportunity on the table. 

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About TN Voices 

TN Voices is a statewide behavioral health nonprofit serving families across all 95 Tennessee counties. Through direct services, advocacy, and innovation, TN Voices works to ensure that every Tennessean has access to the mental health support they need and deserve.