President Trump signed an executive order directing $50 million in federal funds and instructing the Food and Drug Administration to fast-track review of certain psychedelic drugs, including psilocybin and ibogaine, for treating mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. At the Oval Office event, he joked, “Can I have some, please?” to a laughing audience.
Joining Trump were Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Dr. Mehmet Oz (administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services), former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, and podcast host Joe Rogan. Rogan said he had texted Trump about ibogaine; Trump replied, “Sounds great. Do you want FDA approval? Let’s do it.” Luttrell told the president the treatment had “absolutely changed my life for the better.”
The FDA will issue national priority review vouchers next week for three psychedelics, a move FDA Commissioner Mary Makary said could speed reviews and possibly lead to approvals in weeks. This marks the first time the agency has offered fast-track consideration for psychedelics.
Trump framed the order as a response to a national mental health crisis that includes rising suicide rates, noting the order cites more than 14 million American adults with serious mental illness and about 8 million on prescription medications for these conditions. He highlighted promising results from trials of psychedelic treatments among active military personnel and veterans with PTSD; the Department of Veterans Affairs is participating in at least five such trials in New York, California, and Oregon.
Research on psychedelics dates back to the 1950s but largely halted in the 1960s amid recreational use. Studies resumed in recent years, and a 2025 JAMA study found a single dose of LSD reduced anxiety and depression for months in some patients. Psilocybin (the active compound in “magic mushrooms”) and ibogaine (derived from an African plant and studied for addiction treatment) are currently listed as Schedule I drugs under DEA classification, meaning they are considered to have no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.
Trump said his order would expedite reclassification and that he expects rapid FDA approval. In 2024, the FDA rejected approval for MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD.