President Trump signed an executive order on April 18 directing federal agencies to expand research into psychedelic drug therapies and streamline the FDA's approval process for treatments targeting serious mental illness. The order commits $50 million to support state-level psychedelic research and specifically names ibogaine, a powerful psychoactive compound derived from an African shrub, as a priority treatment.
The administration framed the order as a response to the mental health crisis among U.S. veterans, who suffer from PTSD and suicide at rates disproportionate to the general population. Veterans groups, psychedelic research organizations, and medical professionals publicly welcomed the announcement. So did podcaster Joe Rogan.
Matthew Johnson, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins University, called the decision "welcome news," saying it is "building upon decades of science." Psychedelics, which act on the brain's serotonin system and can produce hallucinations, altered perception, and feelings of deep insight, have been studied in recent years for conditions including PTSD, depression, alcohol use disorder, and anxiety. The field has moved steadily from the counterculture fringe toward mainstream medicine over the past two decades.
The order also includes expanded access routes for patients with serious mental illness and directs the FDA to create expedited review pathways for what the administration designates high-priority treatments.
But not all clinicians are celebrating without reservation. Richard Friedman, a psychiatrist and director of the Psychopharmacology Clinic at Weill Cornell Medicine, told Healthline he supports exploring psychedelics for hard-to-treat conditions like PTSD. His concern is what happens when speed becomes the priority.
"What we don't want to do is speed up the testing and evaluation of drugs if it means that we're giving short shrift to the rigorous analysis of safety," Friedman said.
Ibogaine, which the order highlights by name, has attracted particular scrutiny. Research into the compound remains limited, and questions about its cardiac safety profile have not been fully resolved. Critics note that fast-tracking a drug with an incomplete safety record could expose vulnerable patients to serious harm.
The executive order arrives alongside another significant shift in federal drug policy. Trump recently moved to reclassify medical cannabis as a less dangerous controlled substance, a change that would have implications for research access and criminal enforcement. Together, the two moves represent some of the most significant federal repositioning on controlled substances in decades.
The FDA's role in any expedited review process will be closely watched. The agency has faced mounting pressure from patient advocates and researchers to move faster on promising therapies, while also maintaining the trial standards that protect the public from treatments that appear effective but carry hidden risks. How the agency balances those pressures under the new directive remains to be seen.
