President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order to fast-track psychedelic drug research after a direct text message from podcast giant Joe Rogan.

The decision followed a rapid chain of events that unfolded over just a few days, culminating in a striking, and at times awkward, Oval Office appearance on Saturday afternoon.

The directive aims to accelerate federal review of substances like ibogaine and LSD, marking a significant shift in US drug policy. 

The move followed what Rogan described as a brief exchange with the president that quickly escalated into a full-scale policy push inside the administration.

'We all respect Joe and he's a little bit more liberal than I am, that's okay. I have a lot of friends that are liberal,' Trump said. 'Joe is an amazing guy. He wrote me a little note about this and I had it checked out. Everybody came back with the same answer.' 

Rogan sent Trump information about ibogaine - a powerful psychedelic that some veterans have used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder and opioid addiction - including data on its reported success rates. Rogan said Trump replied immediately. 

'The text message came back: "Sounds great. Do you want FDA approval? Let's do it," Rogan said of Trump's response during the White House event. 'It was literally that quick.'

What followed was, in the words of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, an 'unimaginable task' - a weeklong sprint to transform a private exchange into federal policy.

By Saturday, Trump had signed an executive order directing his administration to accelerate research and regulatory review for certain psychedelic drugs - substances long classified among the most restricted under federal law.

'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 at the signing.

Behind the scenes, officials had already been working for months on ways to expand access to psychedelic therapies. 

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had made the issue a priority, and aides including Calley Means and Dr. Heidi Overton helped push the effort forward once Trump signaled his approval, according to people familiar with the process.

But Rogan’s involvement appears to have pushed the issue to the top of the agenda.

The executive order directs the Food and Drug Administration to expedite review of drugs designated as 'breakthrough therapies,' encourages data sharing between federal agencies and opens the door to rapid rescheduling of psychedelics if approved. 

FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary said the agency will issue national priority vouchers allowing certain drugs to move through approval in weeks instead of months.

It is a dramatic shift for substances that remain illegal under federal law and are classified alongside drugs such as heroin.

The president added that the directive would help 'dramatically accelerate' access to potential treatments. 

'If these turn out to be as good as people are saying, it's going to have a tremendous impact.' 

Ibogaine, derived from a West African shrub and used in religious ceremonies in countries like Gabon, has drawn growing attention from veterans’ groups and some Republican lawmakers. 

Advocates say it could help address PTSD, addiction and depression - but medical experts have warned about serious risks, including heart complications and a lack of large-scale clinical evidence.

The drug is classified as a Schedule I substance by the Drug Enforcement Administration, meaning there are no accepted medical uses for it and a high potential for abuse. 

'It’s been incredibly difficult to study ibogaine in the US because of its known cardiotoxicity,' Frederick Barrett of Johns Hopkins said, noting that expanded research could help determine whether the drug is safe and effective.

'If the executive order can pave the way for doing objective, scientific research with this compound, it would help us understand whether it is truly a better psychedelic therapy than others." 

Schedule I drugs also include drugs like heroin and ecstasy (methylenedioxymethamphetamine).

No psychedelic has been approved in the United States, but a number of them are being studied in large trials for various mental health conditions, including psilocybin , MDMA and LSD.

 All those drugs remain illegal, classified as Schedule I substances alongside drugs such as heroin. 

Two states - Oregon and Colorado - have legalized psychedelic therapy with psilocybin. 

Drug classifications are sectioned into five different 'schedules,' with one being the highest potential for abuse. 

Ibogaine is unregulated in countries including Mexico, the Netherlands, Germany and Canada. 

The drug has gained popularity in recent years and generated the attention of medical professionals.

Stanford Medicine released a study in 2024, concluding that ibogaine effectively treated military veterans with traumatic brain injuries. 

The study found that when combined with magnesium to protect the heart, the drug safely and effectively reduced PTSD, anxiety and depression. 

The Stanford University study was small - enrolling 30 veterans who received the drug in Mexico. It did not include a placebo group for comparison, an essential feature of rigorous medical research. 

'No other drug has ever been able to alleviate the functional and neuropsychiatric symptoms of traumatic brain injury,' said Nolan Williams, an associate professor of behavioral sciences and psychiatry. 

'The results are dramatic, and we intend to study this compound further.'

The momentum behind psychedelics has also been fueled by high-profile testimonials.

Backing from veterans groups and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry led to a law last year providing $50 million for ibogaine research in that state. 

Perry, who co-founded a group called Americans for Ibogaine, recently appeared on Rogan's podcast, making the case for reducing federal limits on the drug. 

It was his second time talking about ibogaine on the popular podcast in the past two years. 

Trump's order calls on the Department of Health and Human Services to direct at least $50 million to states that have enacted or are developing programs to advance psychedelic drugs for serious mental illness.

 It's described as a federal-state partnership to provide funding, technical assistance and data sharing.

Ibogaine is known to cause irregular heart rhythms and has been linked to more than 30 deaths in the medical literature, according to the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, a nonprofit that conducted some early studies in patients outside the US.

The group's co-executive director, Ismail Lourido Ali, said Trump's order might encourage other states to follow the Texas model.

'The stigma around Schedule I drugs is significant,' Ali said. 'It feels like this would give pretty substantial cover for Republican governors and legislatures to step into the ring in terms of funding research programs at their universities.'

'You’re going to save a lot of lives through it,' former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell told Trump during the Oval Office event. 'It absolutely changed my life for the better.'

Luttrell's memoir about a deadly mission in Afghanistan was the basis of the film 'Lone Survivor.'

Standing just behind the president as he made the announcement, Rogan, one of the most influential voices in media and a key figure in Trump’s 2024 campaign found himself the subject of a pointed aside as Trump noted how Rogan was more 'liberal'.

The comment came as Rogan lingered in the background of the tightly packed Oval Office and underscored the uneasy dynamic between the two men who may be allies at times yet critics at others.

Rogan endorsed Trump in the 2024 election but has since taken aim at the administration on his podcast, particularly over immigration policy and the war with Iran, which he has described as 'terrifying.'

The awkward optics saw Rogan partially obscured as he stood behind the president.

Owners of ibogaine clinics said the impact of Saturday's Executive O rder will not be immediate.

'There will be no insurance coverage, it will still be considered unapproved and non-covered care,' said Tom Feegel of Beond Ibogaine, which operates a clinic in Cancun, Mexico. 'But what it does mean is that ibogaine shifts from being fringe and underground to being federally acknowledged.'

Feegel says his clinic treated 2,000 people with ibogaine last year for between $15,000 and $20,000 per person. The company also gave free treatment to about 100 veterans.

Clinics that use the drug typically monitor patients' heart readings and have emergency medical equipment on hand.