Trump Signs Order to Fast-Track Psychedelic Drug Reviews with $50M Funding

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Saturday directing federal health regulators to fast‑track the review of psychedelic drugs — including the controversial compound ibogaine — for treating serious mental health disorders, pledging $50 million in new federal research funding and hinting at possible regulatory decisions as early as this summer npr +1.

The directive, signed in the Oval Office on April 18 and framed as a response to a national mental health crisis, ordered the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services to accelerate clinical trials and regulatory reviews for psychedelic‑based therapies, particularly for post‑traumatic stress disorder, depression and addiction, with a special focus on veterans npr +1.

What the Order Actually Does — and How Fast It Could Move Psychedelic Drugs

The order instructs the FDA to use its National Priority Review Voucher pilot to cut review times for selected psychedelics from roughly a year to “weeks” for drugs deemed aligned with “national priorities,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary said, adding that decisions on some compounds could come “as soon as this summer” if data support it reuters +1. Ibogaine, psilocybin and other psychedelics remain Schedule I substances, but the directive calls on the FDA, NIH and VA to expand and coordinate clinical trials, and on the Drug Enforcement Administration to consider rescheduling once safety and efficacy are established through those studies npr +1.

The White House also announced $50 million in federal funding specifically for ibogaine research, a stark shift for a drug long associated with underground addiction clinics abroad and known cardiac risks, including at least two dozen deaths reported in past literature reviews npr +1. Officials said the administration may use “Right to Try” pathways to give some severely ill patients access while trials proceed, though details on eligibility and safeguards have not yet been released reuters.

Veterans’ Hopes, Scientists’ Warnings and the Politics of a Psychedelic Pivot

Surrounded by veterans who had traveled to Mexico and elsewhere for psychedelic‑assisted therapy, Trump argued the move would “save a lot of lives,” echoing former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell’s description of ibogaine as life‑changing for PTSD npr +1. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said it was “disturbing” that “thousands of veterans are having to travel to Mexico” for unregulated treatment and cast the order as a way to bring those interventions into controlled medical settings thehill.

Public‑health and drug‑policy experts urged caution, warning that political pressure must not short‑circuit rigorous trials. Kevin Sabet of the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana said the order risked sending “the wrong message” by encouraging “hasty, potentially dangerous research,” arguing that solid evidence remains limited for many claimed uses thehill. NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya stressed that psychedelics are “something that we’re still studying, and we have to keep studying,” underscoring that any future DEA rescheduling would still require a formal scientific and legal process thehill.

The Bigger Picture

The psychedelics order extended a broader Trump strategy of using executive power to rapidly reshape federal drug policy, following a 2025 directive that moved to downgrade marijuana’s legal classification psychedelicalpha. While the new order could markedly accelerate the path for psychedelic therapies — especially for veterans with few remaining options — the ultimate impact will hinge on forthcoming FDA guidance, the design and integrity of clinical trials, and whether Congress or future administrations lock in or unwind the changes.