What to know about Trump’s MAHA-backed push for psychedelic research

The Trump administration, under the influence of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, is exploring the potential use of psychedelic substances in medicine — once a fringe topic that is now being heavily researched and invested in. 

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held a public hearing in September in which over 200 people requested to comment on the potential uses of psychedelic drugs, with substances like psilocybin, MDMA, ayahuasca and ibogaine discussed. 

Simeon Schnapper, managing partner at JLS Fund and self-described psychonaut, argued in front of FDA officials that psychedelic research was the next frontier in medicine. 

“The agency has done this before three times in my lifetime: biologics, cell and gene therapy, cannabinoid medicines,” Schnapper said.  

“Each began as fringe and became medicine, but only after the agency chose to close the gap between the patients or what patients needed and what they could reach. Closing the gap is not a slogan. It is a set of choices,” he added. 

Commenters at the meeting expounded on the potential uses psychedelics could have for conditions like PTSD, treatment-resistant depression and substance use disorder.  

Here’s what to know about the growing openness to psychedelics in health.

A supportive administration

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been in recovery from addiction for several decades, has expressed support for psychedelic use in mental health despite admitting to some reservations about using substances, given his history. 

In a 2024 interview, Kennedy credited his support for psychedelic decriminalization to one of his sons having positive experience with ayahuasca and experiencing improvements in his behavior as a result. 

Potential regulatory approval for psychedelics got a major........

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