Trump to direct federal research into ibogaine, psychedelics for PTSD treatment

Donald J. Trump was set to direct federal agencies to expand research into ibogaine and other psychedelics, opening a new front in his administration’s drug policy and putting Washington behind treatments long pushed by veterans, mental health advocates and researchers. The plan, championed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., centered on funding clinical trials and broader study rather than an immediate change in federal scheduling.

The move underscored a striking contradiction for a president who built part of his political identity on tough drug rhetoric. Instead of treating psychedelics only as contraband, the White House was moving toward a research posture that reflected pressure from veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury, depression, addiction and suicide. It also suggested a coalition with unusual political reach: veterans’ groups seeking new options, mental health advocates pressing for more care, researchers arguing for controlled trials, and Kennedy, who has become one of the most visible voices inside the administration for loosening the federal grip on some controlled substances.

Ibogaine was expected to be the main focus. Some clinics abroad use the psychedelic compound to treat PTSD and other mental health conditions, but it remains a Schedule I substance under federal law unless Congress or regulators change that separately. A 2023 review of two dozen ibogaine studies involving more than 700 people documented at least 27 deaths following use, a warning that has sharpened demands for U.S.-supervised trials and stronger safety standards. The administration’s push appeared aimed at deeper federal research, not immediate rescheduling.

Trump had already signaled a broader willingness to reopen the federal drug research playbook. On December 18, 2025, he signed an executive order directing expanded medical marijuana and cannabidiol research. On January 29, 2026, he created the White House Great American Recovery Initiative to coordinate the federal response to addiction. Taken together, those steps showed an administration willing to move beyond prohibition-era orthodoxy, even as it stopped short of full legalization or deregulation.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has already provided some precedent. In 2024, the VA funded its first psychedelic-assisted therapy study since the 1960s, focusing on MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD and alcohol use disorder among veterans. The VA’s National Center for PTSD now says psychedelics are being increasingly studied as a way to augment psychotherapy. A 2024 study in veterans with severe treatment-resistant depression found single-dose psilocybin showed promise, while a 2023 psilocybin protocol for veterans with PTSD said the treatment had promise but had not yet been tested directly for that condition.

For the administration, the shift carries both promise and risk. Federal research could make psychedelic treatments safer, more standardized and easier to evaluate in clinics that serve veterans and other patients. But the evidence remains early, the safety concerns are real, and the political meaning is harder to ignore: a White House known for punishing rhetoric on drugs is now helping clear a path for federally backed psychedelic medicine.