Politics
Trump Plans To Sign Executive Order On The Psychedelic Ibogaine As Soon As This Week, Report Says
President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to issue an executive order as soon as this week signaling the administration’s willingness to explore the therapeutic benefits and safety of the psychedelic substance ibogaine.
CBS News reported on Thursday that while the administration doesn’t plan to reschedule the psychedelic out of Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) at this time, the move is “meant to open the door to federal funding for further research on its effectiveness with PTSD and traumatic brain injuries, especially among veterans.”
The outlet said that while officials are still in the process of drafting the executive order’s provisions, the aim is to help determine whether ibogaine is what one source described as “snake oil” or is instead a legitimate treatment.
Citing two sources, CBS reported that the president’s move could come within days.
Early research and experience indicates that ibogaine can help people suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries and drug addiction.
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 reportedly planned federal move on ibogaine comes nearly 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.
Meanwhile, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. 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.”
VA 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.
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.
Photo courtesy of Flickr/Scamperdale.
