VA psilocybin trial opens at five sites, none in California

What did the VA announce?

VA announced "Psilocybin Intervention for Veterans Overcoming Treatment-Resistant Depression," or PIVOT, on August 5, 2026. The release describes a randomized, controlled trial for veterans diagnosed with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder that compares two psilocybin dose levels¹.

The five sites are the Birmingham VA Health Care System and Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center in Alabama, VA Portland Health Care System in Oregon, the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center in Philadelphia and VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle. The release lists no California site¹.

"Far too many Veterans are living with mental health conditions that don't respond to available treatments," VA Secretary Doug Collins said in the release. VA says it's involved in 20 active clinical trials on psychedelic therapies for mental health conditions, and that it "strongly discourages self-medicating" with psychedelics¹.

What does the registry record say?

We checked the trial's ClinicalTrials.gov record, NCT07226232, through the registry's data interface on October 21, 2026². It lists:

• Status: recruiting at all five sites, with an actual start date of August 3, 2026. The status was last verified in August 2026, and the last update was posted August 14, 2026.
• Design: phase 3, randomized and quadruple-masked, with an estimated 240 participants. Veterans get two psilocybin sessions about a month apart: one of two randomized doses first, then the same dose for everyone.
• Drug and sponsor: psilocybin, listed with the other name COMP360, Compass Pathways' formulation. The sponsor is the VA Office of Research and Development.
• Who qualifies: English-speaking U.S. military veterans ages 18 to 75 in a current major depressive episode who haven't responded well to at least two antidepressant treatments. Exclusions include a lifetime history of bipolar, schizophrenia-spectrum or other psychotic disorders. Participants need a responsible adult to take them home or to their lodging on dosing days.
• Timeline: estimated primary completion December 2, 2030, and estimated study completion June 30, 2031.

Why does it matter in San Diego?

San Diego County has 183,791 civilian veterans, according to Census Bureau estimates for 2020 to 2024³. For any of them hoping to join PIVOT, the nearest listed sites are in Portland and Seattle, and enrollment runs through those sites' screening.

VA San Diego Healthcare System does run psychedelic research, but not this trial. It's the only listed site for two small MDMA studies with veterans: one finished in November 2025⁴ and the other is active but not recruiting⁵. Our San Diego clinical trials list tracks those and 43 other studies with a county site, including the 8 that are recruiting.

Outside a trial, psilocybin remains illegal in California, and VA's release itself warns against self-medicating. Our California access map explains the legal picture, and our therapy cost and access table compares the legal options available now.