“These treatments are currently in the advanced stages of clinical trials to ensure that they’re both safe and effective for the American patients.”
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that "directs the FDA to expedite their review of certain psychedelics already designated as breakthrough therapy drugs." During the signing, he was joined by several medical professionals, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as well as podcast host Joe Rogan.
"The executive order I'm signing, we're actually signing the executive order today, is really a moment," Trump said. "These treatments are currently in the advanced stages of clinical trials to ensure that they're both safe and effective for the American patients."
Trump added that the order would implement "historic reforms to dramatically accelerate access to new medical research and treatments based on psychedelic drugs."
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"In many cases, these experimental treatments have shown life-changing potential for those suffering from severe mental illness and depression, including our cherished veterans," Trump said, and then cited veteran suicide rates.
"And the nice part is we're actually doing this early, but it has been going on. Research has been going on for quite some time. But, you know, usually with things like this, nothing ever happens, no matter how the research ends up, but we're changing that. This order will clear away unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles, improve data sharing among the FDA and the Department of Veterans Affairs, and facilitate fast rescheduling of any psychedelic drugs that become FDA-approved," Trump added.
Rogan, who has frequently talked about the potential benefits of psychedelics for those with mental health issues on his podcast, said, "I want to say that I'm here because of the man to my left, Bryan Hubbard [CEO of nonprofit Americans for Ibogaine] and former Texas Governor Rick Perry came on my podcast."
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"They told me how impactful this medicine is. And having that conversation with them, millions of people got a chance to hear their story, hear the stories of all the different people that have had life-changing experiences from it," Rogan added.
During the ceremony for the order signing, Trump cited a study from Stanford, which saw that 30 special operations veterans with traumatic brain injuries "experienced an 80 to 90 percent reduction in symptoms of depression and anxiety within one month” after taking ibogaine treatment.
According to a paper from the Journal of Chronic Stress, ibogaine is a "psychoactive indole alkaloid which is extracted from the Tabernanthe iboga rainforest shrub and has been used for centuries in Central Africa for initiatory rituals."
The drug has been reported to “alleviate a spectrum of mood and anxiety symptoms and is associated with self-reported improvements in cognitive functioning in individuals with substance-use disorders.”
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