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How the VA Accidentally Started a Psychedelic Revolution (and What It Means for Your Mental Health)
The VA’s failure to treat PTSD among America’s Veterans will change the future of mental health for all of us…again.
The Death of Jim Turner
On December 10th, 2018, Retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel Jim Turner parked his truck at the Bay Pines VA complex, stepped out wearing his dress uniform, sat on a stack of his medical records, put his rifle to his head and pulled the trigger.
“I bet if you look at the 22 suicides a day you will see VA screwed up in 90%,” his suicide note read.
[NOTE: This is Part 1 of a multi-part series. Follow me on Medium or Subscribe to get notified when the next article is released. Here’s Part 2, entitled “The History of PTSD”]
Turner was a model Marine, a “lifer” who flew F-18s before becoming an Infantry Officer and serving in the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
He left “an enduring legacy of professionalism, commitment and superior leadership which served as a guiding force for all service members whose lives he touched,” a colleague remembers.
