Trump signs order to speed up review of psychedelic drugs for mental health treatment

President Donald Trump on Saturday directed his administration to speed up reviews of certain psychedelic drugs, including ibogaine, which recently has been embraced by combat veterans and conservative lawmakers despite having serious safety risks.

Ibogaine and other psychedelics remain banned under the federal government's most restrictive category for illegal, high-risk drugs.

But the administration is taking steps to ease restrictions and spur research on using the drugs for medical purposes, including conditions like severe depression.

"Today's order will ensure that people suffering from debilitating symptoms might finally have a chance to reclaim their lives and lead a happier life," Trump said as he signed an executive order on the drugs.

The Republican president said his directive will 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," he said.

Veteran organizations and psychedelic advocates have long contended that the ibogaine, which is made from a shrub native to West Africa, has great promise for hard-to-treat conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder and opioid addiction.

Trump's announcement follows pledges by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other administration officials to ease access to psychedelics for medical use, an issue that has won rare bipartisan support.

Joining Trump in the Oval Office were his top health officials, conservative podcaster Joe Rogan and Marcus Luttrell, the former Navy SEAL whose memoir about a deadly mission in Afghanistan was the basis of the film "Lone Survivor.