SAN ANTONIO – A U.S. Army veteran slammed City Manager Erik Walsh and the hiring practices of the San Antonio Fire Department (SAFD) after he was twice disqualified from joining the academy for briefly using a psychedelic drug to treat brain cancer.
Juan Torres Valenzuela disclosed in his 2023 SAFD application that he ingested two capsules of psilocybin to combat a decrease in his cognitive abilities while undergoing chemotherapy.
The drug usage, although short-lived, has caused Torres Valenzuela to be disqualified for the “use of illicit substances.”
‘I just felt a sharp pain in my head, and I collapsed’
Torres Valenzuela, 31, was commissioned as an Army infantry officer coming out of St. Mary’s University and was deployed to Afghanistan from 2019-2020.
After returning to the United States, he encountered a major health obstacle.
“Talking to one of my friends, just like you and I are right now, out of nowhere, I just felt a sharp pain in my head,” said Torres Valenzuela. And I collapsed.”
Doctors ran tests and informed Torres Valenzuela that he had Stage 3 brain cancer.
“They told me I was a very healthy 25-year-old, but I had a brain tumor,” said Torres Valenzuela.
He said the tumor was removed two weeks after he was first hospitalized.
Torres Valenzuela then went through an arduous cancer treatment that included 33 rounds of radiation and 12 cycles of chemotherapy.
After he noticed that his cognitive abilities were impacted while undergoing chemotherapy treatments, doctors prescribed him opiates.
Torres Valenzuela said he preferred not to take the opiates and began researching university studies conducted on psychedelics and their use by people with brain injuries.
“I found that the VA (Veterans Affairs) was also doing those types of research and clinical trials, but since I was active duty, I couldn’t partake,” said Torres Valenzuela.
Torres Valenzuela said a family member acquired capsules of psilocybin, or mushrooms.
Torres Valenzuela said he ingested two capsules in a single day — one in the morning and one in the afternoon — but stopped after growing concerned that the usage would impact him being able to medically retire from the military.
Torres Valenzuela said his medical team was aware that he acquired psilocybin and planned to take it and that he was monitored by the team after using the drug.
Researchers have said the psychedelic has been found to have a high rate of improving depressed moods and helps the brain grow and rewire itself.
Torres Valenzuela pulled in and out of applicant pool
Torres Valenzuela medically retired from the Army in 2022 and first applied to the San Antonio Fire Department a year later.
He said he was honest on the application and included that he briefly used psilocybin.
Torres Valenzuela took the SAFD exam and then went through the necessary evaluations to join the fire academy — including a fitness test, background check and medical examinations.
“The HR (human resources) department made me aware that that answer, or that ingestion of psilocybin, was a disqualifying answer,” Torres Valenzuela said. “But, due to the circumstances, they would allow me to continue with the process and put me through the polygraph to ensure that that was the only thing that could hold me back.”
In September 2024, Torres Valenzuela was informed that he had been disqualified as a firefighter trainee due to the use of illicit substances, city records show.
Torres Valenzuela then appeared before the Fire Fighters’ and Police Officers’ Civil Service Commission to appeal the city’s decision.
After Torres Valenzuela appealed the decision to the commission and argued that he ingested the drug for medical purposes, he was placed back into the applicant pool that October, records show.
One month later, however, City Manager Erik Walsh filed a letter with the commission stating that he had pulled Torres Valenzuela’s application.
“The basis for the non-appointment, and the valid, good, and sufficient reason for the non-appointment is due to the use of illicit substances,” the November 2024 letter states.
Torres Valenzuela said he took the exam again to ensure he was on the 2025 eligibility list.
He said he was contacted last year by a member of human resources and was asked if he was still interested in joining the department.
After Torres Valenzuela pointed out that the city manager had pulled his application, he was informed that the disqualifying answer was no longer an issue because the commission had previously voted to put him back into the applicant pool.
Torres Valenzuela was then informed last fall that he was again disqualified for the use of illicit substances.
“Disappointed and irritated because from the beginning,” Torres Valenzuela said. “I told them I didn’t want to waste anybody’s time. They assured me it wouldn’t be the same.”
In early November, Torres Valenzuela again attempted to appeal the decision.
Before he could address the commissioners, however, the general counsel for the civil service commission interjected that Walsh had pulled the application and the commission no longer had jurisdiction because the city manager’s determination was final, according to footage of the meeting recorded by KSAT.
“I don’t know what he has against me. I haven’t met the guy,” said Torres Valenzuela, when asked about Walsh.
City officials refused to make Walsh available for an interview for this story.
SAFD accepted applicant who admitted using ecstasy and ketamine
Torres Valenzuela blasted the hiring practices of the department after learning they allowed a fellow applicant to join the academy despite her admission that she used ecstasy and ketamine recreationally.
The other applicant, Sheina McManus, was also labeled as permanently unsuitable for the use of illicit substances, city records show.
She appealed the disqualification in 2022 and was eventually hired by SAFD in June 2024, according to records.
Reached for comment, McManus referred all questions from KSAT about her prior drug use to the department’s public information office.
An SAFD spokesman said that McManus’ use of ecstasy and ketamine occurred before she was 17 years old.
In a separate email, a city spokesman said admitted drug use when under the age of 17 does not automatically disqualify someone from being appointed, per civil service rules.
City officials late last year blocked the release of emails regarding McManus.
Torres Valenzuela completed his firefighter and EMS training at a nearby fire academy in December and recently joined a neighboring fire department.
The SAFD Bravo cadet class Torres Valenzuela had hoped to be part of began training last month.
From the start of 2023 to December 2024, 5,108 people applied to SAFD.
Forty-nine of those applicants were labeled as permanently unsuitable.
Out of the total applicant pool, 233 people were appointed to the department, according to figures previously released by SAFD.
KSAT Investigates requested updated figures covering 2025, but the city has failed to turn over those records, months after the information was requested.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.