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President Donald Trump has initiated a significant move to expedite the federal review process for psychedelic drugs, aiming to unlock new avenues for mental health treatments.
WASHINGTON — In a bid to enhance mental health care, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Saturday that calls for a swift federal review of psychedelic substances as potential treatments for mental health issues.
“Today’s executive order marks a pivotal step towards offering hope to individuals grappling with severe symptoms, giving them a chance to reclaim their lives and pursue happiness,” Trump remarked during the signing ceremony.
The decision comes on the heels of a 2024 study conducted by Stanford University, which revealed promising results using the psychoactive compound ibogaine, derived from plants, to aid combat veterans suffering from traumatic brain injuries.
Such injuries are a predominant factor in the onset of various mental health challenges, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, and elevated suicide rates among veterans.
Few treatments have been effective in managing long-term effects of TBI, according to the study, but researchers found that the psychoactive drug effectively helped to reduce symptoms with no serious side effects.
Several veterans who participated in the study called the drug was “life changing.”
Sean, a veteran in his 50s from Arizona with six combat deployments, was one of the study participants. He said ibogaine saved his life.
“Before the treatment, I was living life in a blizzard with zero visibility and a cold, hopeless, listless feeling,” he said in the report. “After ibogaine, the storm lifted.”
Ibogaine is found in the roots of the African shrub iboga and has been used for ceremonial and healing purposes for centuries. However, it has been designated a Schedule I drug in the U.S. since the 1970s, which is the most restrictive category for illegal or high-risk drugs.
However, the order signals that the administration is taking steps to ease access to psychedelics that Trump said were already designated as potential breakthroughs by federal regulators.
The Food and Drug Administration next week will issue national priority vouchers for three psychedelics, which the agency’s commissioner, Marty Makary, said will allow certain drugs to be approved quickly “if they are in line with our national priorities.” It is the first time the FDA has offered that fast-tracking to any psychedelics.
The FDA is also taking steps to clear the way for the first-ever human trials of ibogaine in the United States.
No psychedelic has been approved in the United States, but a number of them are being studied in large trials for various mental health conditions, including psilocybin, MDMA and LSD.
All those drugs remain illegal, classified as Schedule I substances alongside drugs such as heroin.
Two states — Oregon and Colorado — have legalized psychedelic therapy with psilocybin.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.