Donald Trump on Saturday announced reforms intended to speed up access to medical research and treatment based on psychedelic drugs.
The president signed an executive order directing the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to expedite review of drugs such as ibogaine, a drug that US military veteran groups have said can help treat post-traumatic stress disorder.
At an event in the Oval Office, US federal officials said that the reforms would pave the way for the drugs, which can cause hallucinations and are largely illegal, to be reclassified after successful clinical trials. Trump also said the US would dedicate $50m to federal research into ibogaine.
“Can I have some please?” Trump joked at the event. Drawing laughter, the president added: “I’ll take whatever it takes. I don’t have time to be depressed.”
The New York Times reported that Trump’s order would most immediately benefit Texas, which has already committed $50m to studying ibogaine, which is made from a central African shrub root.
Researchers have also said that ibogaine has shown the potential to treat opioid and other substance abuse problems.
Trump on Saturday said: “If these turn out to be as good as people are saying, it’s going to have a tremendous impact on this country and other countries, too.”
Accompanying Trump on Saturday were the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, and podcaster Joe Rogan. Before joining Trump’s administration, Kennedy had criticized the FDA for what he called its “aggressive suppression of psychedelics”. And Rogan, who generally supports Trump, has been a vocal advocate of responsible psychedelic use and legalization.
