Federal agencies are advancing legal psychedelic therapy after President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order to accelerate the process.

As of now, most psychedelics, including psilocybin, LSD, DMT, and ibogaine, remain federally illegal as Schedule I substances.

Trump Accelerating Psychedelic Therapy for Mental Illness 

Trump’s Executive Order, signed earlier in spring 2026, established the need for increased psychedelic therapy research. It allocated at least $50 million in federal funds to assist state programs in advancing psychedelic medicine for serious mental illnesses. 

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner is supposed to provide national priority vouchers for psychedelic drugs that have received FDA Breakthrough Therapy designations. This could cut drug approval review times from months to weeks. 

Schedule I substances that have completed advanced phase 3 clinical trials for serious mental health conditions are to be reviewed for rescheduling once approved by the FDA. 

The Executive Order calls for the FDA and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to “establish a pathway for eligible patients to access psychedelic drugs, including ibogaine compounds, under the Right to Try Act”. 

It also directed the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the FDA to collaborate with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on psychedelic therapy research. 

This may be the most significant presidential order furthering psychedelic research in the history of the United States. It might be a landmark achievement for the communities that will benefit. 

Yet the order may have been influenced by politics and those seeking to make money rather than clinical data alone. Some fear, as STAT News reports, that psychedelic research being politicized could undermine the field’s credibility. 

Federal Agencies Collaborate on Psychedelic Therapy 

The VA is currently involved in 20 active clinical trials for psychedelic therapies and mental health conditions with over $23 million in external funding, including research on MDMA for PTSD and on psilocybin for treating depression.

Notably, the VA and the HHS recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on advancing psychedelic trials and care for veterans’ mental health.  This will include increased participation in clinical trials. 

They will collect and share data on clinical efficacy and safety. Research will also be coordinated and shared with the FDA and legal authorities to accelerate approval for tested treatments. 

Therapists, doctors, nurses, and relevant staff will be trained for clinical trials and future administration of FDA-approved psychiatric drugs. 

Educational materials will be developed to guide providers and patients on safety and what they can expect as new treatments are approved.  

Notably, they strongly discourage “self-medicating or attempting to replace other mental health treatment options with psychedelics or any other unprescribed substances.”

The VA also signed a separate MOU with the FDA.  The parties have agreed to participate in meetings to communicate on regulations, policies, and responsibilities. They will assist each other in surveillance of public health concerns and notify each other when concerns become evident. 

Joint-data-sharing initiatives will be planned and implemented, and technical advice and decisional support for healthcare matters will be shared in areas of expertise.

Speaking at the MOU signing at VA headquarters, VA Secretary Doug Collins told Military.com that training a clinical workforce for these new treatments requires extensive preparation.

“We’re going to open that up as much as we can, as quickly as we can, by training as many clinicians as possible,” Collins stated. “It’s not just the veteran getting treated; it’s training the clinicians who actually perform the therapy.” 

FDA Issues Vouchers to Begin Psychedelic Therapy Studies 

The FDA has issued national priority vouchers to Big Pharma corporations like Compass Pathways and the Big Pharma-funded Usona Institute to study psilocybin for depressive disorders. Otsuka Pharmaceutical has also received a voucher to study an MDMA relative, methylone, for PTSD treatment.

They have also approved an Ibogaine-based study to begin phase 1 clinical trials in the U.S. for alcohol use disorder.

In July, a final guidance document was issued by the FDA providing industry considerations and recommendations for clinical research on psychedelic drugs and their development for treatments.