President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Saturday directing his administration to speed up the review and potential approval of psychedelic drugs for medical use, with a particular focus on ibogaine — a substance derived from a shrub native to West Africa that veteran groups say shows remarkable promise for treating post-traumatic stress disorder, opioid addiction and severe depression. The order instructs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to fast-track its review process and clears the way for the first-ever human clinical trials of ibogaine in the United States. "Today's order will ensure that people suffering from debilitating symptoms might finally have a chance to reclaim their lives," Trump said at a signing ceremony in the Oval Office.
Ibogaine and other psychedelics currently sit under Schedule I of the federal Controlled Substances Act — the most restrictive classification, reserved for substances deemed to have no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Despite this, the drug has been administered at clinics in Mexico, often to American veterans, with many reporting significant improvements in mental health symptoms. The FDA will next week issue national priority review vouchers for three psychedelics, a fast-tracking mechanism that can cut review timelines from several months to weeks — the first time such expedited status has been extended to any psychedelic substance. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary suggested decisions on some drugs could come as early as this summer.
The executive order also directs at least $50 million toward a federal-state partnership to fund research, with states that have enacted or are developing psychedelic treatment programmes set to benefit. Texas, which last year passed a law committing $50 million of its own funds to ibogaine research following advocacy by former Governor Rick Perry, is positioned to benefit most immediately. The order was signed with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., conservative podcaster Joe Rogan — who said he texted Trump about ibogaine and received an enthusiastic response — and Marcus Luttrell, the retired Navy SEAL whose survival mission in Afghanistan inspired the film "Lone Survivor," all present in the Oval Office.
Scientists and longtime advocates have greeted the announcement with a mixture of cautious optimism and concern. Ibogaine is known to cause irregular heart rhythms and has been linked to more than 30 deaths in the medical literature, a key reason the National Institutes of Health discontinued research into the drug in the 1990s. A small Stanford University study of 30 veterans treated at a Mexican clinic found meaningful improvements in PTSD, depression and anxiety, but the trial lacked a placebo control group, limiting its scientific weight. Researchers at Johns Hopkins stressed that rigorous, well-funded clinical trials are essential before the drug can be safely deployed at scale.
The move has attracted rare bipartisan support. Democratic Representative Lou Correa of California praised the action on social media, calling for reclassification to enable broader research. Republican lawmakers, including Texas Representative Morgan Luttrell, pledged to pursue parallel legislation in Congress. Advocates note that the executive order carries symbolic as well as practical weight: by shifting ibogaine from a fringe, underground substance to one that is federally acknowledged, it may encourage other state governments to fund research programmes. However, clinic operators cautioned that the order will not immediately change everyday access — ibogaine will remain unapproved and uninsured for now, with private treatment abroad still costing between $15,000 and $20,000 per person.