Trump signs order backing psychedelic research

Psychedelic drugs could soon play a larger role in mental health care. Over the weekend, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at boosting federal research into substances like psilocybin, LSD and MDMA and expanding their use in controlled treatment settings.

“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,” Trump said in the Oval Office, surrounded by veterans and other officials, The Washington Post reported.

Under the order, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will support new clinical trials for psychedelic drugs like ibogaine, and work to speed up approvals for treatments shown to be safe and effective.

FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary said the agency plans to issue priority review vouchers next week and could approve some psychedelics as early as this summer, The Post said. The federal government has also committed $50 million to support ibogaine research.

Many of these drugs are now classified as Schedule I substances, meaning they are considered to have no accepted medical use and a high risk of abuse. If approved, they would be a lot easier to access.

Some say the change could help people with mental health issues.

“We had prayed for this day to come,” former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrel told The Post.

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the government must “turn over every stone” to address veterans’ mental health needs, noting that some have traveled to other countries for treatment.

Kevin Sabet, a former White House drug policy adviser who is now president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, said the plan could “send the wrong message,” encouraging hasty research.

He warned that “people need to realize there is little to no evidence for most of these drugs and most of the conditions they claim to alleviate.”

Some officials say more research is needed.

“This is something that we’re still studying, and we have to keep studying,” National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya told The Post.

Andrew Kessler, the founder of behavioral health consultancy Slingshot Solutions, added that “even if research on psychedelics is successful, we are years away from it having an impact.”

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