Psychedelics

Trump's Embrace of Psychedelic Therapy Leaves Most Users on the Wrong Side of the Law

The medical model assumes that people should be allowed to use psychedelics only for government-approved reasons.

Jacob Sullum | 4.22.2026 12:01 AM

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On Saturday, President Donald Trump issued an executive order aimed at "accelerating medical treatments for serious mental illness" by facilitating regulatory approval of ibogaine and other psychedelics that have shown promise as psychotherapeutic catalysts. Although the case for doing that is compelling, the medical model embraced by the president excludes most psychedelic use, which will remain illegal even if the "historic reforms" that Trump announced work as planned.

Trump takes it for granted that Americans should be allowed to use psychedelics only for reasons that the government recognizes as legitimate. Otherwise, they are criminals rather than patients, subject to arrest, prosecution, and potentially severe penalties for daring to assert sovereignty over their own bodies and minds.

The injustice of that policy is readily apparent when people use psychedelics in ways that manifestly improve their lives. Many combat veterans, for example, have found that........

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