On April 18, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at accelerating clinical research and federal approval for psychedelic therapies, highlighting ibogaine as a priority for treating veteran mental health and substance use disorders.

The order, formally titled “Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness,” directs federal agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), to reduce regulatory barriers and streamline the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval pathway for “breakthrough” psychedelic medicines.

During an Oval Office signing ceremony, President Trump also announced a $50 million federal initiative to study ibogaine, a psychedelic substance derived from the West African iboga plant. The president noted that these emerging treatments offer unprecedented hope for veterans and others struggling with severe depression and mental health conditions.

Podcaster Joe Rogan, who attended the ceremony at the White House and has long advocated for the therapeutic use of psychedelics, described a rapid exchange with the president regarding the drug’s potential. Rogan told attendees he had messaged Trump about ibogaine’s efficacy, to which the president reportedly responded, “Sounds great. Do you want FDA approval? Let’s do it.”

Drawing laughs from attendees in the Oval Office, the president quipped that he would gladly try the experimental therapeutics himself. He then reflected on his own mental health strategy, suggesting that maintaining an unrelenting workload leaves him no time to feel depressed.

The move was met with immediate praise from veteran advocacy groups. Jay Kopelman, CEO of the Mission to Live Foundation, said the order provides a “future free from veteran suicide” by prioritizing research into drug-resistant PTSD and traumatic brain injury (TBI).

“As a veteran who has experienced this incredible medicine twice, I can attest that this will save lives,” Kopelman said.

Notably, the excitement surrounding the executive order was not confined solely to veteran voices. Former professional football player Robert Gallery – an outspoken ibogaine advocate and co-founder of Athletes for Care – heralded the move in a statement provided to Lucid News. 

“For a long time, I thought I was just a messed-up ex-football player and that this was how life was going to be,” said Gallery. “Ibogaine was the thing that finally helped me get my life back, but I had to leave the country to do it.”

According to Gallery, the executive order signals that society is beginning to take mental health issues seriously and is willing to study these treatments and determine what’s effective instead of ignoring people who suffer. 

“There are a lot of athletes out there dealing with brain injuries, depression, and addiction who feel like they’ve run out of options,” says Gallery. “This isn’t about hype, it’s about doing the research the right way, with real medical oversight, so people don’t have to go outside the U.S. just to try to get better. If this leads to more clinical trials, more data, and real access for people who need it, that’s a big step forward.”

The executive order comes as the Association for Prescription Psychedelics (APP) faces scrutiny. The organization is currently the subject of an Office of Congressional Conduct (OCC) complaint alleging the mishandling of taxpayer-funded data.

Despite the controversy, the APP lauded the administration’s “sense of urgency,” noting in a statement that “with a suicide every 11 minutes and 17 of our veteran heroes taking their lives every day, there is no time to waste.”

While some groups embraced the executive order, some established research organizations urged caution. Ismail L. Ali, co-executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), emphasized that fast-tracking must remain “grounded in transparent, evidence-based processes.”

Ali specifically highlighted the ecological and ethical risks associated with ibogaine. Because the iboga plant is a limited natural resource native to Gabon, Ali warned that “mass production of ibogaine can harm the people, traditions, and land where iboga is grown,” calling for a balance between clinical access and social responsibility.

The administration’s push for psychedelic research appears to sit in tension with its broader fiscal policy. A federal spending plan released April 3 proposes deep cuts to scientific and health agencies. Under the plan, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) would see a 13% budget reduction, while the National Science Foundation (NSF) would have its budget cut by half by 2027.

Furthermore, the VA continues to grapple with a shrinking mental health workforce. Observers note that some proposed psychedelic-assisted therapies are resource-intensive and potentially expensive. One form of the MDMA-assisted therapy model initially studied by MAPS and later by Lykos Therapeutics, for example, requires two clinicians, typically a male/female cotherapy pair, to monitor a single patient for up to eight hours. As psychedelic-assisted therapies are developed, demand for these new, potentially more effective mental health treatments continues to escalate. 

“The real question now is whether the clinical data can keep pace with that momentum, and whether the healthcare system is prepared to integrate these treatments responsibly,” said Melissa Lavasani, founder of the Psychedelic Medicine Coalition.

Concerns over existing inequities facing federal healthcare bureaucracies, set against the hype surrounding the supposed "fast-tracking" of federally funded psychedelic research, extend beyond psychedelic advocacy circles. 

In a Stat News op-ed, harm reduction specialist and psychedelic practitioner Dimitri Mugianis co-wrote with sociologist and psychotherapist Ross Ellenhorn that there is "a broader social context that cannot be ignored," even beyond their concerns about republican co-optation of psychedelic policy reform in support of largely for-profit interests. 

"Decades of research across sociology and public health show that exclusion, whether driven by economic inequality, social marginalization, or barriers tied to race, class, or gender — contributes to psychological distress and substance use," the op-ed states.

"The same conditions that push people to the margins often make recovery harder, because they limit access to housing, employment, community belonging, and health care. Policies that deepen those forms of exclusion do not simply shape economic life; they shape who has a real chance to recover."

The executive order coincides with a flurry of legislative activity on Capitol Hill, including the introduction of the Innovative Therapies Centers for Excellence Act of 2026. Sponsored by Sens. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., and Rob McCormick, R-Pa., the bill seeks to establish specialized research hubs dedicated to advancing psychedelic medicine. 

Similarly, Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., introduced the VHA Novel Therapeutics Preparedness Act, which would create a dedicated office within the Department of Veterans Affairs to manage the eventual rollout of these treatments. These legislative efforts build upon a November 2025 VA update confirming that nine regional medical centers, including facilities in Los Angeles and the Bronx, are already conducting long-term clinical trials on psychedelic substances.

As reported on April 5, a Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing for the Sen. Sheehy-backed, VA-focused legislation is scheduled for Wednesday, April 29, marking the first psychedelics-legislation-focused congressional hearing of the current term.

In another nod to forthcoming congressional psychedelic policy reforms, President Trump’s reference in the recent order to his 2018 Right to Try executive order was read in some congressional circles as a signal of possible support for the bipartisan-backed Freedom to Heal Act (FTHA).

Previous reporting by DoubleBlind on leaked correspondence from the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee (SVAC) suggested that the FTHA might not have the necessary congressional support to advance further in Congress this term. However, the FTHA’s legislative future ultimately runs through the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has not yet indicated whether it will schedule a hearing on the FTHA in the wake of the Executive Order.

Prominent supporters of the FTHA — specifically Reason for Hope and the Veterans Mental Health Leadership Coalition (VMHLC) — highlighted in a joint statement in the wake of the Executive Order that the high-profile move by the Trump Administration, “shows critical federal leadership to begin fixing this problematic reality.”

“It seeks to achieve several meaningful reforms we have been working to advance,” the statement continued, “including to enable access to psychedelic therapies under President Trump’s landmark Right to Try law, as the Freedom to Heal Act would codify.”

Ultimately, as the federal government signals a historic shift in its approach to mental healthcare, the success of the executive order will hinge on navigating stark logistical and financial realities. Harmonizing the administration’s urgent directive with ongoing congressional frameworks, looming agency budget cuts, and rigorous FDA standards presents a formidable challenge. For advocates and veterans, however, the mandate marks a crucial – albeit complicated – milestone toward the integration and widespread access of psychedelic therapies.

**This story was syndicated in partnership with Lucid News. Find the original story here.

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