Trump Signs Executive Order Naming Ibogaine, Directing FDA and DEA to Open Research Pathways

This week's biggest development: On April 18, President Trump signed an executive order titled "Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness," making ibogaine the only psychedelic named explicitly in the order's text. The order directs the FDA to prioritize review of psychedelic compounds and instructs the DEA and other federal agencies to reduce restrictions that may hamper research.

The Executive Order: What It Actually Says

The order directs the FDA and DEA to facilitate and establish a pathway for eligible patients to access psychedelic drugs, including ibogaine compounds, under the Right to Try Act, including any necessary Schedule I handling authorizations for treating physicians and researchers. It also allocates $50 million for federal-state collaboration. The FDA is expected to issue national priority vouchers for three psychedelics — a first for any psychedelics — which could cut review times from several months to a matter of weeks.

IND Clearance Issued; First U.S. Human Trials in Sight

FDA Commissioner Marty Makary stated that "investigational new drug" clearance was issued for ibogaine, meaning the drug can be shipped to clinical investigators across state lines as research continues. The FDA is also taking steps to clear the way for the first-ever human trials of ibogaine in the United States. Legal scholars at Harvard's Petrie-Flom Center noted that ibogaine's inclusion in the Right to Try pathway is unexpected, because the statute requires completion of Phase I clinical trials — a threshold ibogaine has arguably not met, largely because the FDA has resisted ibogaine research due to concerns about heart-related risks, and most ibogaine research has been conducted abroad.

State Legislative Wave Accelerates

Texas announced it will use $50 million invested by the Legislature and partner with statewide medical researchers to proceed with its own ibogaine research program, after the state was unable to find a pharmaceutical company to join the required consortium. Mississippi's HB 314 was signed into law by Gov. Tate Reeves on March 26, having passed the state Senate 51-1. According to Americans for Ibogaine's CEO, bills have also been advancing in West Virginia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Missouri. In Kentucky, a state research bill passed despite a veto from Gov. Andy Beshear and contains an emergency clause, meaning it became law immediately.

Safety Context: Cardiac Risks and Recent Clinic Incidents

The drug is known to cause irregular heart rhythms and has been linked to more than 30 deaths in the medical literature, according to MAPS, a nonprofit that conducted some early studies in patients outside the U.S. Trump's action surprised many longtime advocates and researchers, given that ibogaine is known to sometimes trigger potentially fatal heart problems; the National Institutes of Health briefly funded research on the drug in the 1990s, but discontinued the work due to ibogaine's "cardiovascular toxicity." In a recent safety disclosure, ibogaine clinics in Mexico admitted to two instances of serious harm in January 2026 — a death at the Ambio clinic in Baja and a reported "violation of trust" at Transcend in Cancun — with both clinics issuing press releases about the incidents. Ambio announced changes to its detoxification program, including enhanced screening protocols, longer program durations, and a minimum 21-day stay for anyone consuming fentanyl prior to treatment.

What the Science Currently Supports

The scientific evidence behind ibogaine so far consists mostly of small observational studies and open-label trials; only one double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial has been completed. One of the only recent studies conducted by U.S. researchers — a Stanford study enrolling 30 veterans who received the drug in Mexico — found improvements in PTSD, depression, and anxiety symptoms, but did not include a placebo group, an essential feature of rigorous medical research; patients received ibogaine combined with magnesium intended to reduce heart risks. Ibogaine has shown promise as an opioid addiction treatment, but the few studies on the psychedelic did not support the highest claims made about its success rates at the executive order signing.

Sources listed below. Verify with your medical provider.

Informational only. Not medical or legal advice. Ibogaine is Schedule I in the US. Consult qualified professionals.