Line art of an iboga plant and the chemical structure of ibogaine

Psychedelic Literacy as a Public Health Imperative

The recent allocation of $50 million to research the psychedelic compound ibogaine primarily for the treatment of PTSD in veterans marks more than a legislative milestone. The allocation signals a shift in how we imagine the future of trauma care. That shift has particular resonance here in Galveston, where our proximity to a large and historically underserved veteran population intersects with UTMB’s public health mission,

Galveston County is home to approximately 20,000 veterans, a proportionally higher share (5.3%) than the Texas average (4.5%). Psychedelics, including ibogaine and MDMA, are entering public conversation as potential therapeutic breakthroughs, especially for those failed by traditional pharmacological models. But the conversation is still dominated by research labs and legislative headlines. What's missing is public health context.

If psychedelic-assisted therapy becomes part of the trauma care toolkit, the implications for education, ethics, access, and equity will be profound. Public health professionals, especially those trained in population-based thinking, harm reduction, and social determinants of health, will need fluency to engage with patients.

Psychedelic literacy, rooted in health ethics and evidence-based practice, could become a vital public health competency as more money is allocated to researching psychedelic compounds such as ibogaine. It would equip professionals to address not only the promise of these treatments, but also their risks, histories, and patterns of exclusion. Who will have access? Who will be excluded? How will we protect communities while expanding innovation?

UTMB’s School of Public and Population Health is uniquely positioned to lead this conversation. We are anchored in a coastal city with real-world proximity to veteran populations. We are embedded in a research institution that understands translational science and community engagement. And we are surrounded by the kinds of bioethical questions such as those involving accessibility, what counts as informed consent for clinical trials, and how do we define and measure therapeutic success, that psychedelic medicine demands we confront.

The future of public health will not only be about managing disease, it will be about interpreting possibility. Psychedelic literacy will need to become part of that interpretive toolkit. The time to prepare for that future is now.

About the Author
Jarrel De Matas, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Bioethics and Health Humanities at the University of Texas Medical Branch. He earned his BA and MA from the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, and his PhD from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His work explores health justice and bioethics through Caribbean literature, global science fiction, and postcolonial critique, with a focus on how storytelling shapes our understanding of medical disparities.

Learn more about the Department of Bioethics and Health Humanities at UTMB.

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