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By Joe Edwards
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President Donald Trump announced a "historic" drug policy reform on Saturday, easing restriction on psychedelics to support veterans' mental health treatment.
CBS News had reported on Thursday the White House was drafting an executive order signaling the Trump administration’s openness to expanded federal research into ibogaine, a psychedelic used in some countries to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), to further evaluate the drug’s safety and effectiveness.
Trump’s announcement directed the FDA to take new steps by issuing guidance on how researchers should design clinical trials for psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin and ibogaine—substances that can produce hallucinogenic effects and remain illegal in the U.S.
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Why It Matters
According to advocacy movement Mission Roll Call, some 41 percent of veterans are in need of mental health support every year, with common challenges including PTSD, traumatic brain injury (TBI), depression, anxiety and substance abuse.
About 15 percent of veterans who served in Iraq or Afghanistan experience PTSD in a given year, with roughly 23 percent of veterans using VA care having had PTSD at some point in their lives, according to the movement.
What To Know
Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said the reform will "dramatically accelerate access to new medical research and treatments based on psychedelic drugs."
"Today I'm pleased to announce historic reforms to dramatically accelerate access to new medical research and treatments based on psychedelic drugs. In many cases, these experimental treatments have shown life-changing potential for those suffering from severe mental illness and depression, including our cherished veterans," the president said. "Our veterans are having a tremendous hard time."
He added: "It's for a lot of people but it's for our military in particular. The suicide epidemic among veterans is a national tragedy. Since 9/11 we've lost over 21 times more veteran lives to suicide than on the battlefield…and today we're bringing them new hope."
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Among those present while Trump made the announcement in the Oval Office were Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, and comedian and podcaster Joe Rogan—who Trump said had advocated for the new move.
"These drugs are illegal not because they're harmful," Rogan said Saturday. "They're illegal because of the 1970 Controlled Substances Act that was passed by the Richard Nixon administration. They did it to target the civil rights movement and the anti-war movement. It's not because these drugs harm people. And for 56 years, we've lived under those terrible conditions. We're free of that now."
Trump’s executive order directs federal agencies to accelerate research, review, and potential approval of psychedelic-based treatments for serious mental illnesses, particularly for patients who have not responded to existing therapies.
It prioritizes expedited FDA review for qualifying drugs, expands access under the federal 'Right to Try' law, allocates at least $50 million for federal‑state collaboration, and orders coordination among the FDA, HHS, and the Department of Veterans Affairs to increase clinical trials and data sharing.
It also instructs the Justice Department to fast‑track rescheduling reviews for any psychedelic drugs that successfully complete late‑stage clinical trials and receive FDA approval.
“Thank you, President Trump,” Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins wrote on social media. “We need an all-of-the-above strategy when it comes to tackling mental health, and your EO opens up new possibilities for America’s Veterans.”
Update, 4/18/26, 11:35 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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