Donald Trump signed an executive order on 18 April 2026 directing the FDA to fast-track psychedelic drugs for depression and PTSD, with podcast host Joe Rogan standing in the Oval Office and telling the room a text message to the president had started it all.
The order, titled Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness, directed federal agencies to speed up research into psilocybin and ibogaine, substances still classified as Schedule I drugs under federal law, a category reserved for substances deemed to carry high risk and no accepted medical use. Six days later, the FDA issued priority review vouchers to three companies developing psychedelic-based medicines, marking the first time the agency had offered such expedited treatment to any psychedelic drug.
