#22 - Ben “Doc” Askins: From Straight-Edge to Psychedelic

Ben "Doc" Askins is a physician assistant, US army captain, author and podcast host. He has two decades of experience practicing and teaching wilderness, tactical, and expeditionary medicine in the military. As a civilian, he is certified with the Multidisciplinary Association on Psychedelic Studies in MDMA-assisted therapy, and is a Psychiatric Physician Assistant offering ketamine assisted therapy in Kentucky. Doc is a National Outdoor Leadership school alum, a veteran of the Global War on Terrorism, and has postgraduate training in Neuropsychiatry and Genomics with a Masters in Divinity. Doc’s book, The Anti-Hero’s Journey: The Zero with a Thousand Faces, is described as a “warped war memoir about the way to attain enlightenment” (think of it as an integration therapy guide in the form of his life story). You might remember Doc from episode 22 – he was featured in our recap of the Kentucky Summit on Breakthrough Therapies for Opioid Use Disorder.

What we discuss:

• Doc’s presence at the Kentucky Summit

• Why Doc thinks the idea of investing $42 million in ibogaine research in KY is “a terrible idea”

• A clinician’s perspective on ibogaine

• How Doc went from a straight-edge kid and member of the DARE club to a proponent of psychedelic assisted therapy

• America’s shifting perception of psychedelics

• Psychedelic assisted therapy for veterans

• The challenges of treating people suffering from suicidality

• Doc’s recommendations for post-treatment integration

• Reflecting on Doc’s book, The Anti-Hero’s Journey

Why it’s important:

With his strict Christian upbringing and army background, Doc might not be the first person you’d expect to be an advocate of breakthrough psychedelic therapies – but it’s precisely that background that qualifies him to speak to the ongoing crisis. As a Kentuckian with close personal connections to both the opioid and suidide crises, an active duty member of the Army National Guard, and a physician assistant (among many other things – he’s the first to call his background ‘eclectic’), Doc’s perspective on the state’s interest in funding ibogaine research is both well-informed and unique. He’s the first person I’ve heard call the plan “a terrible idea,” but not for the reason you might think. Speaking to his experience working in ketamine-assisted therapy, Doc offers insight into the kind of support a person suffering from suicidality requires, and explains why the window after a psychedelic experience is a critical time for people who have been facing treatment-resistant depression. Doc’s story is a testament to how tragedy can change our life’s course in an instant, and proof that even with years of “just say no” indoctrination, there’s hope that even the staunchly opposed could change their minds about psychedelic medicines like ibogaine.

Relevant Links:

• Anti-Hero’s Journey website
• Listen to Anti-Hero’s Journey podcast
• Ben “Doc” Askins on Instagram
• The Kentucky Summit on Exploring Breakthrough Therapeutic Potential for Opioid Use Disorder
• The Real Reason KY’s Attorney General Doesn’t Want My Opinion On Psychedelics (Brainz Magazine)
• An Open Letter To KY Governor Andy Beshear (Brainz Magazine)
• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: Statistics