(Photo courtesy of Drop Thesis)
Drop Thesis, a licensed psilocybin service center in downtown Bend, announces a new, exciting partnership with the Returning Veterans Project (RVP), a nonprofit serving veterans, service members, and their families across Oregon and Southwest Washington since 2005. Together, the two organizations have launched The Path Forward Program, an initiative that allows local and regional businesses to directly sponsor psilocybin-assisted therapy journeys for veterans in Central Oregon — at no cost to the veteran.
The partnership addresses a gap that has long stood between veterans and emerging mental health treatments: cost. Under the program, sponsorship, fully tax-deductible and routed through RVP’s 501(c)(3), covers a veteran’s complete three-phase journey: preparation, a guided psilocybin experience at Drop Thesis’s licensed Bend facility, and structured integration support.
“We started Drop Thesis because we watched this work change lives, and as we’ve grown, we see how veterans need a way to access this kind of support that doesn’t depend on their ability to pay,” said Gary Bracelin, Drop Thesis Founder and Partner. “Partnering with RVP means we’re not just offering a service, we’re offering a real path forward, backed by an organization veterans already know and trust.”
The partnership arrives alongside a growing body of clinical research into psilocybin’s potential for veterans specifically. A pilot clinical trial from The Ohio State University’s Center for Psychedelic Drug Research and Education, published in July 2026 in Communications Medicine, found that 75% of veterans with severe, treatment-resistant PTSD were in full remission one month after psilocybin-assisted therapy — with no serious adverse events. Separately, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has launched a major multi-site study, PIVOT (Psilocybin Intervention for Veterans Overcoming Treatment-Resistant Depression), enrolling at least 240 veterans across five VA medical centers through 2031.
“Veterans should have options for care, both within and parallel to the traditional system,” said Amy Almond-Schmid, Executive Director of the Returning Veterans Project. “This partnership gives us another meaningful tool to offer the veterans who come to us looking for something that can help. Since 2005, RVP has worked to remove the barriers, including cost, stigma, and access, that keep veterans from the healing they deserve. This partnership is a natural extension of that mission.”
The Path Forward Program is designed to be simple for sponsoring businesses. RVP helps determine veteran eligibility and manages the charitable funds, while Drop Thesis provides all clinical care, from initial preparation through final integration.
Sam Gross, a therapist, licensed psilocybin facilitator at Drop Thesis, and U.S. Army veteran, will help lead the program’s veteran-facing work. “As both a therapist and a veteran, I understand how important trust, choice, and feeling understood can be when someone is considering a new approach to their mental health,” said Gross. “What excites me about The Path Forward Program is that it gives veterans another option and removes cost from the equation. Being able to support fellow veterans through that process, both clinically and as someone who has worn the uniform myself, is incredibly meaningful to me.”
RVP has served more than 5,200 veterans, service members, and their families since its founding, connecting them to free, confidential mental and physical health services through a network of licensed volunteer providers. Since opening in Bend in 2023, Drop Thesis has become a leading licensed psilocybin service center in Central Oregon, offering guided journeys grounded in preparation, facilitation, and integration.
Businesses interested in sponsoring a veteran’s journey through The Path Forward Program can reach out to portal@dropthesis.com, call Drop Thesis directly at (458) 202-7111 or contact Gary Bracelin at gary@dropthesis.com to learn more. Veterans who are interested in the program can call (458) 202-7111 or reach out directly to kris@dropthesis.com.
www.dropthesis.com
