President Donald Trump is set to announce new efforts to boost research into psychedelics and potentially make the drugs available in controlled therapeutic environments, according to three people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the administration’s plans.
Trump’s planned announcement will direct new steps from the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates drug safety. The agency would issue new guidance to researchers on how to design clinical trials for drugs such as psilocybin, ibogaine and other serotonin receptors. Those drugs, which also include LSD and MDMA, can cause hallucinogenic effects and are currently illegal in the United States
The president is also expected to tout the drugs’ potential to help military veterans and other patients dealing with PTSD and cite efforts by the National Institutes of Health, which funds clinical research, to support studies into the drugs.
The announcement could come as soon as this weekend, the people said.
The federal government currently categorizes psilocybin, ibogaine and other psychedelics as Schedule I drugs, which means that they have no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Ibogaine, for instance, has been linked to heart risks. Federal law prohibits the cultivation and possession of Schedule I drugs, except for approved research studies.
The White House and the Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to questions about Trump’s pending announcement. CBS News first reported parts of Trump’s plan.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has championed the idea of using psychedelics to help with depression and mental health conditions, an issue he raised during his independent presidential campaign. He continued to tout the idea after throwing his support to Trump in August 2024 and announcing his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.
“My mind is open to the idea of psychedelics for treatment,” Kennedy wrote in a September 2024 Instagram post. “People ought to have the freedom and the liberty to experiment with these hallucinogens to overcome debilitating disorders.”
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) and former Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I) are among the politicians who have cheered ibogaine’s potential to address mental health conditions.
“Few things have moved me like what I’ve witnessed with a psychedelic drug made from a shrub in Africa,” Perry wrote in a Washington Post op-ed last year.
Andrew Kessler, the founder of behavioral health consultancy Slingshot Solutions, said that current restrictions on psychedelics such as psilocybin — sometimes known as “magic mushrooms” — have hampered research into their clinical applications, despite evidence of their potential.
“The research on psilocybin at the [Department of Veterans Affairs] and elsewhere has been incredibly promising for dealing with PTSD, addiction and other mental health issues,” Kessler said. But he contrasted that work with the need for more federal investments into other ways to support people dealing with those conditions, such as more funding for a federal agency that supports mental health care, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which has faced cuts and pressure under the Trump administration.
“Even if research on psychedelics is successful, we are years away from it having an impact,” Kessler said. “We are still in crisis mode and need immediate help as well.”
Rachel Roubein contributed to this report.
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