Trump signs executive order to fast-track psychedelic drug research, announces $50 million support
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Trump signs executive order to fast-track psychedelic drug research, announces $50 million support")
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, US media personality Joe Rogan, W. Bryan Hubbard, CEO of Americans for Ibogaine, and former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell applaud after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on April 18, 2026. Photograph: (AFP)
The order, signed in the Oval Office in the presence of federal health officials, advocates and podcaster Joe Rogan, directs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue fresh guidance for researchers conducting clinical trials on psychedelics.
US President Donald Trump on Saturday (April 18) announced sweeping reforms aimed at accelerating access to medical research and treatments based on psychedelic drugs.
Trump signed an executive order directing the US Food and Drug Administration to expedite the review of drugs such as ibogaine, which US military veteran groups say can help treat post-traumatic stress disorder.
The move will “dramatically accelerate access to new medical research and treatments based on psychedelic drugs,” Trump said.
The order, signed in the Oval Office in the presence of federal health officials, advocates and podcaster Joe Rogan, directs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue fresh guidance for researchers conducting clinical trials on psychedelics.
“In many cases, these experimental treatments have shown life-changing potential for those suffering from severe mental illness and depression, including our cherished veterans,” Trump said.
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He added that the steps outlined in the order would “clear away unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles, improve data sharing among the FDA and the Department of Veterans Affairs, and facilitate fast rescheduling of any psychedelic drugs that become FDA-approved.”
Trump also announced that the federal government will provide $50 million to support state-level research on ibogaine and is “opening a pathway for the substance to be administered to desperately ill patients under the Right to Try law” signed during his first term.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. said the order would accelerate research, approval and access to new mental health treatments, including psychedelic therapies.
“We’re taking this decision, this decisive step, to confront one of the most urgent public health challenges facing our nation, the mental health crisis,” he said adding that “This executive order will remove legal impediments that block American researchers, scientists, physicians and clinicians from properly studying these medicines and, where appropriate, establishing protocols for their safe therapeutic use.”
