Trump Complains DOJ Is ‘Slow-Walking’ Marijuana Rescheduling, Four Months After He Issued An Order To Get It Done
Trump Signs Order To Accelerate Legal Access To Psychedelics For Patients With Mental Health Conditions
Ohio Judge Temporarily Pauses Hemp Product Ban For Two Businesses
Texas Voters Support Legal Medical Marijuana Access But Are Largely Unaware Of The State’s Existing Program, Poll Shows
States Could Opt Out Of Federal Hemp THC Product Ban Under New Bipartisan Senate Bill
Medical Marijuana Helps People Stop Using Opioids, Sleeping Aids And Other Prescription Drugs, Study Shows
Vaporizing Marijuana Reduces Harmful Inhaled Byproducts By 99% Compared To Joint Smoking, New Study Shows
Federally Funded Study Reveals Marijuana Breathalyzer Breakthrough With 3-D Printed Roadside Tool Able To Detect THC
Alcohol And Tobacco Are More Damaging To Users And Society Than Marijuana Is, Government-Funded Study Concludes
High Marijuana Taxes Don’t Effectively Deter Use, Study Shows, Contrary To NYT Editorial Board’s Claim
WNBA Offers To End Marijuana Testing For Women’s Basketball Players As Part Of Reported Deal With Union
DEA Promotes Anti-Marijuana PSA Contest Inviting Students To Warn Peers About THC Dangers On 4/20
Largest Entertainment Arena In US Partners With Cannabis Businesses To Sell THC Drinks At Concerts And Live Events
Woody Harrelson Got Kicked Out Of Two Bars For Smoking Marijuana With Matthew McConaughey’s Mom
State Marijuana Regulators Share Tips On How To Stay Safe And Legal Around The Holidays
Target Expands Involvement In Hemp THC Drinks Market With 72 New Licenses In Minnesota
Marijuana Sales Are Rising And Alcohol Is On The Decline As Consumer Preferences Evolve, Government Data In Canada Shows
Feds Deny Snoop Dogg Request To Trademark ‘Smoke Weed Everyday’ Because Marijuana Is Illegal And Song Lyric Is Too Popular
Marijuana Kiosks For Seniors Are Coming To Independent Living Communities Across Arizona
Montana Retailers Have Sold More Than $1 Billion Worth Of Recreational Marijuana Since Legalization Took Effect
Trump is planning a psychedelics executive order (Newsletter: April 17, 2026)
IRS addresses cannabis industry worker tips (Newsletter: April 16, 2026)
Virginia lawmakers push back on governor’s cannabis amendments (Newsletter: April 15, 2026)
Virginia governor wants cannabis bill changes (Newsletter: April 14, 2026)
Texas hemp product ban paused by judge (Newsletter: April 13, 2026)
Published
on
By
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at expanding and expediting research on the potential therapeutic benefits of psychedelics, a move aimed at making substances such as psilocybin, ibogaine, LSD and MDMA more readily available to patients in clinical settings.
The move will “dramatically accelerate access to new medical research and treatments based on psychedelic drugs,” Trump said.
The order, which the president signed in the Oval Office on Saturday alongside federal health officials, advocates and the podcaster Joe Rogan, directs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue new guidance for researchers on conducting clinical trials on psychedelics.
“In many cases, these experimental treatments have shown life-changing potential for those suffering from severe mental illness and depression—including our cherished veterans,” Trump said.
Steps taken under the order will “clear away unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles, improve data sharing among the FDA and the Department of Veterans Affairs, and facilitate fast rescheduling of any psychedelic drugs that become FDA approved,” the president said.
Some psychedelics like psilocybin and MDMA have been designated with “breakthrough therapy” status, meaning that preliminary clinical evidence shows they can provide substantial improvement over existing therapies. Trump said his order will “expedite” the further review of such substances.
Trump also announced that the federal government is making $50 million available to support state-level research on ibogaine and is “opening a pathway for the substance to be administered to desperately ill patients under the Right to Try law” that he signed during his first term in office.
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said at the signing event that under the president’s order his department “will accelerate research, approval and access to new mental health treatments, including psychedelic therapies.”
“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,” he said. “This executive order will remove legal impediments that block American researchers, scientists, physicians and clinicians from properly studying these medicines and, where appropriate, establishing protocols for their safe therapeutic use.”
Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, under this historic Executive Order, @HHSGov will accelerate research, approval, and access to new mental health treatments, including psychedelic therapies such as ibogaine. pic.twitter.com/ZiUl5IaoBL
— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) April 18, 2026
Kennedy also said health officials will coordinate with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Department of Justice on “rescheduling reviews after successful Phase 3 trials” on psychedelics.
The order says that “the Attorney General shall, in consultation with HHS, initiate and complete review of any product containing a Schedule I substance that has successfully completed Phase 3 clinical trials for a serious mental health disorder, so that rescheduling, if appropriate under 21 U.S.C. 811, may proceed as quickly as practicable for such specific products that are ultimately approved under section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.”
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary said that his agency will issue three national priority vouchers for psychedelics.
“Under this new program in this administration, drugs can get approved in weeks—not a year or a year plus, but in weeks—if they are in line with our national priorities,” he said.
Makary also announced “the first ibogaine investigational new drug clearance,” which he said will “pave the way for the first-ever human trials in the United States” on the psychedelic.
HHS is confronting the mental health crisis:
✅ @US_FDA will prioritize therapies that have received Breakthrough Therapy designation
✅ Expanding the use of Right to Try
✅ Coordinate with the @DEAHQ and @TheJusticeDept to begin rescheduling reviews after successful Phase 3… pic.twitter.com/G4wKePKyd5
— HHS Rapid Response (@HHSResponse) April 18, 2026
Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX), who also attended the signing ceremony, said in a statement that he “can personally attest to the significant benefits of this treatment.”
“It changed my life, and I look forward to seeing the impact it will have on countless others,” he said. “We’re losing too many veterans. If this treatment gives us a chance to change that, then we owe it to them to pursue it. The President’s executive order brings us closer to a lasting solution that our veterans deserve.”
A growing body of research and experience indicates that psychedelics can help people suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries, drug addiction and other mental health disorders.
Lawmakers in a number of states have passed legislation to support clinical trials with the aim of developing ibogaine into a legal medication with approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Texas officials, for example, recently announced that the state will move ahead with launching its own research program on the psychedelic after the they couldn’t find a company to lead a consortium on the issue under a bill enacted last year.
The federal psychedelics move comes four months after Trump issued an executive order directing the Department of Justice to completed the process of moving marijuana from Schedule I of the CSA to Schedule III “in the most expeditious manner”—though that still hasn’t happened.
Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness🇺🇸@JoeRogan: "For 56 years we've lived under those terrible conditions. We're free of that now. Thanks to all these people… and thanks to President Trump." https://t.co/j1tkGACSM7 pic.twitter.com/aQmZl3z4PG
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 18, 2026
Meanwhile, Kennedy said recently that the Trump administration is “very anxious” to create a pathway for access to psychedelics therapy and that top officials across federal agencies want to “get it out to the public as quickly as possible.”
In an interview on the Joe Rogan Experience in February, Kennedy said he’s confident “we’re going to get it done,” with plans to develop and finalize rules that would enable patients with conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression to access psychedelic substances like psilocybin and MDMA in a “very controlled setting.”
“Everybody in my agency…is very anxious to get a rule out there that will allow these kind of studies and will allow access under therapeutic settings, particularly [for] the military soldiers who have suffered these injuries to get access to these products,” the HHS secretary said. “We’re working through that process now. We’re all working on it and trying to make it happen.”
“I think that we’re going to get it done,” he said.
Last June, Kennedy said his agency is “absolutely committed” to expanding research on the benefits of psychedelic therapy and, alongside of the head of FDA, is aiming to provide legal access to such substances for military veterans “within 12 months.”
Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins also disclosed in April that he had an “eye-opening” talk with Kennedy about the therapeutic potential of psychedelic medicine. And he said he’s open to the idea of having the government provide vouchers to cover the costs of psychedelic therapy for veterans who receive services outside of VA as Congress considers pathways for access.
Thank you, President Trump. 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. https://t.co/OOqKuWd6C2
— VA Secretary Doug Collins (@SecVetAffairs) April 18, 2026
Bipartisan congressional lawmakers introduced legislation this session to provide $30 million in funding annually to establish psychedelic-focused “centers for excellence” at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities, where veterans could receive novel treatment involving substances like psilocybin, MDMA and ibogaine.
Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) has said ibogaine represents an “astonishing breakthrough” in the nation’s current “sick care system” that’s left people with serious mental health conditions without access to promising alternative treatment options.
Tom Angell is the editor of Marijuana Moment. A 25-year veteran in the cannabis and drug law reform movement, he covers the policy, politics, science and culture of marijuana, psychedelics and other substances. He previously reported for Forbes, Marijuana.com and MassRoots, and was given the Hunter S. Thompson Media Award by NORML and has been named Journalist of the Year by Americans for Safe Access. As an activist, Tom founded the nonprofit Marijuana Majority and handled media relations, campaigns and lobbying for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition and Students for Sensible Drug Policy.
Add Marijuana Moment as a preferred source on Google.
All the cannabis news you need, all in one place. Copyright © 2017-2026 Marijuana Moment LLC ® and Tom Angell