RFK Jr. and other Trump officials embrace psychedelics after FDA setback
[July 17, 2025]
By MATTHEW PERRONE
WASHINGTON (AP) — For decades, proponents of psychedelic drugs have come
to Washington with a provocative message: Illegal, mind-altering
substances like LSD and ecstasy should be approved for Americans
grappling with depression, trauma and other hard-to-treat conditions.
A presidential administration finally seems to agree.
“This line of therapeutics has tremendous advantage if given in a
clinical setting and we are working very hard to make sure that happens
within 12 months,” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently told
members of Congress.
His suggested timeline for green-lighting psychedelic therapy surprised
even the most bullish supporters of the drugs. And it comes as
psychedelics are making inroads in deep red states like Texas, where
former Trump cabinet secretary and ex-governor Rick Perry has thrown his
full support behind the effort.
The administration's embrace of psychedelics has sparked both excitement
as well as concern from those in the field, who worry the drugs might be
discredited if they appear to be rushed onto the market or are too
closely linked with Kennedy, who is known for controversial views on
vaccines, antidepressants and fluoride.

“I’m quite optimistic,” says Rick Doblin, whose organization has pursued
the medical use of MDMA (or ecstasy) since the 1980s. “But I’m also
worried that the message the public might get is ‘Well, RFK likes
psychedelics and now it’s approved.’”
FDA may reconsider MDMA
Under President Joe Biden, the FDA rejected MDMA as a treatment for
post-traumatic stress disorder, citing flawed data and questionable
research. Regulators called for a new study, likely taking several
years. It was a major setback for Doblin and other advocates hoping to
see the first U.S. approval of a psychedelic for medical use.
But the agency appears ready to reconsider. FDA chief Marty Makary, who
reports to Kennedy, has called the evaluation of MDMA and other
psychedelics “a top priority,” announcing a slate of initiatives that
could be used to accelerate their approval.
One new program promises to expedite drugs that serve “the health
interests of Americans,” by slashing their review time from six months
or more to as little as one month. Makary has also suggested greater
flexibility on requirements for certain drugs, potentially waiving
rigorous controlled studies that compare patients to a placebo group.
That approach, considered essential for high-quality research, has long
been a stumbling point for psychedelic studies, in which patients can
almost always correctly guess whether they’ve received the drug or a
dummy pill.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and FDA also recently
hired several new staffers with ties to the psychedelic movement.
“These are all very promising signs that the administration is aware of
the potential of psychedelics and is trying to make overtures that
they’re ready to approve them,” said Greg Ferenstein, a fellow at the
libertarian Reason Foundation, who also consults for psychedelic
companies. “We didn’t hear anything about that in the Biden
administration”

A spokesperson for HHS did not respond to a request for comment.
As a presidential candidate, Kennedy discussed how his son and several
close friends benefited from using psychedelics to deal with grief and
other issues.
A number of veterans lobbying for psychedelic access have already met
with Trump's Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Doug Collins.
“What we’re seeing so far is positive,” Collins told House lawmakers in
May.
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 But some experts worry the hope and
hype surrounding psychedelics has gotten ahead of the science.
Philip Corlett, a psychiatric researcher at Yale University, says
bypassing rigorous clinical trials could set back the field and
jeopardize patients.
"If RFK and the new administration are serious
about this work, there are things they could do to shepherd it into
reality by meeting the benchmarks of medical science," Corlett said.
“I just don’t think that’s going to happen.”
Texas goes all-in on ibogaine research
As officials in Washington weigh the future of psychedelics, some
states are moving ahead with their own projects in hopes of nudging
the federal government. Oregon and Colorado have legalized
psychedelic therapy.
And last month, Texas approved $50 million to study ibogaine, a
potent psychedelic made from a shrub that's native to West Africa,
as a treatment for opioid addiction, PTSD and other conditions. The
research grant — the largest of its kind by any government — passed
with support from the state's former GOP governor, Perry, and combat
veterans, some who have traveled to clinics in Mexico that offer
ibogaine.
Ibogaine is on the U.S. government’s ultra-restrictive list of
illegal, Schedule 1 drugs, which also includes heroin. So advocates
in Texas are hoping to build a national movement to ease
restrictions on researching its use.
“Governmental systems move slowly and inefficiently,” said Bryan
Hubbard of Americans for Ibogaine, a group formed with Perry.
“Sometimes you find yourself constrained in terms of the progress
you can make from within.”
Ibogaine is unique among psychedelics in both its purported benefits
and risks. Small studies and anecdotal reports suggest the drug may
be able to dramatically ease addiction and trauma. It was sold for
medical use in France for several decades starting in the 1930s, but
the drug can also cause dangerous irregular heart rhythms, which can
be fatal if left untreated.
Some veterans who have taken the drug say the risks can be managed
and ibogaine’s healing properties go far beyond antidepressants,
mood stabilizers, counseling and other standard treatments.

Marcus Capone struggled with anger, insomnia and mood swings after
13 years as a Navy Seal. In 2017, at the urging of his wife Amber,
he agreed to try ibogaine as a last resort. He described his first
ibogaine session as “a complete purge of everything.”
“But afterward I felt the weight just completely off my shoulders,”
he said. “No more anxiety, no more depression, life made sense all
of a sudden.”
A nonprofit founded by the Capones, Veterans Exploring Treatment
Solutions, or VETS, has helped over 1,000 veterans travel abroad to
receive ibogaine and other psychedelics.
But federal scientists have looked at the drug before — three
decades ago, when the National Institute on Drug Abuse funded
preliminary studies on using it as an addiction treatment. The
research was discontinued after it identified “cardiovascular
toxicity."
“It would be dead in the water,” in terms of winning FDA approval,
longtime NIDA director Nora Volkow said.
But Volkow said her agency remains interested in psychedelics,
including ibogaine, and is funding an American drugmaker that's
working to develop a safer, synthetic version of the drug.
“I am very intrigued by their pharmacological properties and how
they are influencing the brain,” Volkow said. “But you also have to
be very mindful not to fall into the hype and to be objective and
rigorous in evaluating them.”
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