President Donald Trump ordered faster federal review of psychedelic drugs to expand potential mental health treatments.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Saturday directing a faster federal review of psychedelic drugs for treating mental health disorders.
“Today’s order will ensure that people suffering from debilitating symptoms might finally have a chance to reclaim their lives and lead a happier life,” Trump said as he signed an executive order on the drugs.
The president cited a 2024 study from Stanford University that found promising results in using the plant-based psychoactive drug ibogaine to treat combat veterans with traumatic brain injuries.
These injuries are a leading cause of a variety of mental health disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and suicide 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.