On April 18th, 2026, President Trump signed an executive order easing federal restrictions on psychedelic substances with aims to accelerate research into psychedelic treatments for mental health. The executive order represents a softening of federal policy towards psychedelics and is being framed as a potential tool to address unmet mental health needs, particularly among veterans.
A growing body of research has demonstrated the potential of psychedelic therapies to treat a range of challenging mental health and substance use conditions, including PTSD, addiction, and severe depression. However, most psychedelic substances are currently illegal and classified as Schedule 1 drugs with “no currently acceptable medical use,” severely limiting research that seeks to understand their potential therapeutic uses. This executive order both provides support for additional psychedelic research and aims at accelerating approval for psychedelic drugs already under FDA review.
In particular, the executive order provides $50 million in federal funding for state-level research into ibogaine, a controversial drug with the potential to treat opioid addiction. While preliminary research has shown ibogaine therapy to be successful at curing addiction to opioids and crack cocaine, in addition to benefiting veterans with traumatic brain injuries, ibogaine is also known to carry significant safety risks, including the potential to trigger cardiac incidents.
To read the full article nytimes.com/2026/04/17/health/trump-psychedelics-ibogaine.html