Tipsheet

Trump Signs Executive Order to Fast-Track Psychedelic Treatments for Mental Illness

Scott McClallen
Scott McClallen  |  April 18, 2026 3:00 PM

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to speed the use of psychedelic drugs as a potential treatment for serious mental illness. 

The order directs the Food and Drug Administration to the Commissioner’s National Priority Vouchers to appropriate psychedelic drugs that have received breakthrough therapy designations for treating serious mental illnesses. 

That designation aims to ensure that people with serious mental illnesses, including veterans, can receive help. America’s veterans have a suicide rate of twice that of non-veterans. For over 20 years, there have been more than 6,000 veteran suicides per year.

The Order further directs the FDA and the Drug Enforcement Agency to establish a pathway for eligible patients to access investigational psychedelic drugs, including ibogaine compounds, that are under FDA review and that have met basic safety requirements under President Trump’s landmark Right to Try Act.

The Order requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to allocate $50 million through the Advanced Research Projects for Health program to match investments made by state governments to advance research into psychedelic programs for populations with serious mental illness.

The HHS and FDA will collaborate with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the private sector to increase clinical trial participation and evidence generation surrounding experimental psychedelic therapies. 

The order tells the Attorney General to review these drugs upon successful completion of Phase 3 clinical trials so they can be rescheduled, if appropriate. 

Today, over 14 million American adults have a serious mental illness— a diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder that substantially interferes with a person’s life and ability to function.