A new study by the Heroic Hearts Project is looking for veterans suffering from gambling addiction to go to the Netherlands to take part in a retreat in the name of science.

Problematic gambling is a mental health disorder where individuals cannot control their urge to gamble, even when it leads to negative consequences.

It is disproportionately high among the ex-military population, and the Christmas season can be challenging.

Existing treatments are often ineffective and many specialists stress the need for alternatives.

Research into treatment that combines psychedelic substances with psychological support has shown promising results for people with other addictive problems.

This will be the first study to investigate the effectiveness of psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) in treating gambling addiction.

Heroic Hearts UK CEO Keith Abraham said: “I’m a big believer. But that’s just me as a person, and when we’re conducting research, it doesn’t really matter what I believe.

“But I’ve firmly dedicated my life to working with these medicines and providing access to others for these medicines. So, I’m a huge believer in their potential.

“But we’re here for research, and our beliefs don’t matter.

“So, let’s wait and see what the research comes back and says.”

The Heroic Hearts Project – an organisation that helps veterans get safe and legal access to psychedelic treatments – is working with researchers from the University of Gibraltar to carry out the study, which will involve 10 veterans travelling to the Netherlands to take part in a retreat.

The retreat will consist of two ceremonies conducted in a natural environment led by therapists – rather than in a clinical hospital setting.

Participants, who will be carefully screened before being accepted into the research study, will be offered a maximum of five grammes of psilocybin truffles in each ceremony.

The retreat is fully funded so those selected to participate will only need to cover their travel costs to and from the UK.

Mr Abraham said: “We’ll be conducting two ceremonies within the week and we’ll be offering a maximum of five grammes of psilocybin truffles during each of those two ceremonies.

“So essentially, the research is being conducted on a retreat during ceremonies.

“What the whole thing will entail is actually a nine-week programme, so the retreat is actually only one week of that programme.

“We have a two-week preparation phase beforehand where we coach and advise and inform all of the participants of what’s going to happen, what they need to do to prepare themselves, how we can help them prepare themselves, what they need to take, what’s going to happen.”