Veterans & Addiction

Veterans face elevated rates of substance use disorders driven by combat exposure, military culture and post-discharge transition challenges. The session covers VA treatment models including the addiction-treatment programmes (SUD), military sexual trauma and SUD comorbidity, combat-related PTSD-SUD with concurrent MDMA-assisted therapy trials, opioid prescribing patterns and the VA's stewardship interventions, the transition to civilian care and TRICARE coverage, and the VA-community partnership models including the Mission Act expansion. Discussion addresses suicide-prevention integration in VA addiction services, women veterans' addiction care, traumatic brain injury overlap with SUD, and the elevated overdose risk in the post-deployment year.