“I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked …”
It’s Veterans Day 2021, and I’m sitting in a lavish ballroom in the Hotel del Coronado in the tiny island resort community that sits on the western flank of San Diego Bay. The posh crowd skews model-hot and dozens of Navy SEALs and other US special operations warriors, veterans, and their spouses are mingling with business leaders, entertainers, artists, and politicians less than a mile from the Naval Special Warfare Training Center, where thousands of SEALs have completed Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training.
It’s exactly four years to the day that SEAL veteran Marcus Capone underwent psychedelic-assisted therapy in Mexico, which he and his wife, Amber, believe saved his life. Inspired to connect others in the special operations community to the seemingly miraculous treatment, the Capones founded Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions (VETS) the following year. The nonprofit provides resources, research, and advocacy for US military veterans seeking treatment with psychedelic-assisted therapies; on this special anniversary, the Capones have brought together an elite crowd for a fundraising gala. The gala’s theme,“Strength in Numbers,” speaks to the organization’s ambitious goal of “ending the veteran suicide epidemic by helping veterans heal from traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).”
“Many of the treatments for mental health care that are available to us and that we were told to do to heal are not working,” Marcus tells the crowd. “By giving our veterans a true shot at healing, we will pave the way for these therapies to be available for all Americans within the borders of our nation.”