WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to expedite research and access to psychedelics used outside the US to treat post-traumatic stress disorder.
“Today’s order will ensure that people suffering from debilitating symptoms might finally have a chance to reclaim their lives and lead a happier life,” Mr Trump said in an Oval Office ceremony April 18.
The order directs the US Food and Drug Administration to issue new guidance to researchers on ibogaine, a compound extracted from the iboga plant in Africa that is used to treat depression, anxiety and PTSD for military veterans.
The hallucinogen is considered a Schedule I controlled substance and is prohibited for use in the US.
While the order doesn’t reclassify the drug for medical use, Mr Trump urged the health professionals arrayed behind him at the event to reclassify it quickly.
“These treatments are currently in the advanced stages of clinical trials to ensure that they’re both safe and effective for the American patient,” Mr Trump said.
Mr Trump’s directive calls for a US$50 million (S$63.50 million) federal research investment into ibogaine, and opens an opportunity for terminally ill, or “desperately” ill, patients to try the drug under the Right to Try law passed during his first term.
Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr is a vocal proponent of psychedelic therapy and has encouraged the administration to consider mind-altering substances to treat depression, mental health conditions and other hard-to-treat disorders.
“This line of therapeutics has tremendous advantage if given in a clinical setting and we are working very hard to make sure that happens within 12 months,” he told Congress in 2025.
Under the Biden administration, the FDA rejected the use of MDMAs, the class of drugs that includes psychedelics, to treat PTSD, citing the quality of research and questions over the clinical trials.
The Trump administration has signalled support of bringing psychedelics into mainstream healthcare.
Psychedelic therapy has gained momentum in recent years, with some studies suggesting benefits of using hallucinogens.
In recent years, Australia became the first country to legalise and regulate the use of MDMA to treat PTSD and researchers have reported positive outcomes, the New York Times reported. BLOOMBERG
