Vicente, “President Trump Signs Executive Order Accelerating Psychedelic Research and Patient Access”
President Trump Signs Executive Order Accelerating Psychedelic Research and Patient Access
On April 18, President Trump signed an executive order titled “Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness,” directing federal agencies to expand research on and access to psychedelic drugs for patients whose conditions have not responded to standard therapies.
The executive order directs the Food and Drug Administration to fast-track review of psychedelic compounds that have received Breakthrough Therapy designation, expands patient access through the federal Right to Try Act and commits at least $50 million in federal funding to match state investments in psychedelic research. It also directs the Drug Enforcement Administration to begin rescheduling reviews upon completion of Phase 3 clinical trials for psychedelic treatments that ultimately receive FDA approval.
“This executive order marks the most significant federal embrace of psychedelic medicine in U.S. history and offers new hope to the millions of Americans living with treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, and other serious mental illnesses. We are proud to have helped lay the legal groundwork for today’s action, and we look forward to working with federal agencies, states, and our clients to ensure this order translates into safe, equitable, and timely access for the patients who need these treatments most.”
— Jerrico Perez, Vicente LLP partner
This order is the most significant federal action on psychedelics in decades and one that Vicente LLP attorneys have worked toward through years of legislative, regulatory and policy work at the state and federal levels.
Vicente LLP attorneys have been involved in psychedelics policy since the field’s earliest stages, from co-authoring Colorado’s Natural Medicine Health Act and Oregon’s Psilocybin Services Act to now supporting Colorado’s ibogaine research bill (HB26-1325) currently before the General Assembly.
“This Executive Order lines up with the work we have been doing to help the people of Colorado have more effective options for healing. It signals that the federal government is finally moving at the pace that access to these vital therapies demands.”
