Trump signs order to expedite review of psychedelic drugs, including ibogaine to relax restrictions: ‘Going to have….’

United States President Donald Trump on Saturday ordered his administration to accelerate the review process for certain psychedelic substances, including Ibogaine. The drug has recently gained support from combat veterans and some conservative lawmakers, despite being associated with significant safety concerns.

Ibogaine and other psychedelics are currently classified under the federal government’s strictest category for illegal, high-risk substances. However, the administration is moving to relax some restrictions and encourage research into their potential medical uses, particularly for conditions such as severe depression.

Ibogaine was originally used in spiritual practices by followers of the Bwiti religion in countries such as Gabon, where it played a role in ceremonial rituals.

According to AP, the Republican president mentioned his directive will assist “dramatically accelerate” access to potential treatments, adding, “If these turn out to be as good as people are saying, it's going to have a tremendous impact.”

Advocacy groups for veterans and supporters of psychedelics have long argued that Ibogaine, produced from a shrub native to West Africa, holds significant potential for treating difficult conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder and opioid addiction.

The announcement by Trump follows commitments from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other officials to expand access to psychedelics for medical purposes, an issue that has drawn uncommon bipartisan backing.

Trump was joined by senior health officials, conservative podcaster Joe Rogan, and Marcus Luttrell, whose memoir inspired the film Lone Survivor. Rogan said he had texted Trump information about ibogaine, to which the president replied: “Sounds great. Do you want FDA approval? Let's do it.”

Luttrell informed Trump during the ceremony, "You’re going to save a lot of lives through it. It absolutely changed my life for the better.”

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is set to introduce national priority vouchers next week for three psychedelic substances. According to the agency’s commissioner, Marty Makary, these vouchers will enable certain drugs to be approved more quickly “if they are in line with our national priorities", the AP report noted.

The programme could shorten review timelines from several months to just a few weeks, marking the first time the FDA has extended such fast-tracking measures to psychedelics. The FDA is also moving forward with efforts to pave the way for the first human trials of Ibogaine in the United States.

However, Trump’s decision caught many long-time advocates and researchers in the psychedelic field off guard, as ibogaine is known to sometimes cause potentially fatal heart complications. The National Institutes of Health had briefly supported research into the drug in the 1990s but halted its work due to ibogaine’s “cardiovascular toxicity.”

No psychedelic substance has yet received approval in the United States, though several, including Psilocybin, MDMA, and LSD, are currently being evaluated in large clinical trials for a range of mental health conditions. Despite ongoing research, these drugs remain illegal and are classified as Schedule I substances, the same category as Heroin. However, two states, Oregon and Colorado, have legalised psilocybin-based psychedelic therapy.

(With inputs from AP)