<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Saturday that aims to invest in the research and development of psychedelic therapies, including\u00a0Ibogaine. (Photo by Scott\u00a0Olson\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
The federal government on Saturday took a page out of\u00a0Texas lawmakers’ playbooks<\/a>, as President Donald Trump signed an executive order that aims to invest in and accelerate research on psychedelic therapies. Trump\u2019s order focused on\u00a0Ibogaine, a drug that\u00a0former\u00a0Gov. Rick Perry<\/a> and others have advocated for to provide relief to veterans with mental health challenges.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Texas, Republican leaders have already committed $50 million to the Ibogaine research,\u201d Trump said on Saturday<\/a>, referring to an initiative the Texas Legislature approved last June<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cToday, the federal government is making a $50 million\u00a0research investment of its own.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Ibogaine, is an extract of an ancient African shrub that has been used to alleviate addiction and brain trauma. This weekend,\u00a0Trump cited research\u00a0that has found\u00a0Ibogaine therapy\u00a0helps veterans who have anxiety, PTSD and other mental and physical health issues. The president appeared to joke, asking if he could \u201chave some, please.\u201d<\/p>\n U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy\u00a0Jr. outlined<\/a> the executive order\u2019s aims, saying his department\u00a0would \u201caccelerate research, approval and access to new mental health treatments,\u201d including psychedelic therapies, such as Ibogaine.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis decisive step [is] to confront one of the most urgent public health challenges facing our nation, the mental health crisis,\u201d Kennedy Jr.\u00a0said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Trump also hinted at his administration\u2019s plans to\u00a0allow\u00a0Ibogaine to be administered to \u201cdesperately ill\u201d patients under the Right to Try Act<\/a>.\u00a0The act\u00a0establishes an alternative pathway for terminally ill patients to access\u00a0experimental\u00a0drugs from manufacturers\u00a0that have not gone through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration\u2019s traditional approval\u00a0process.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n FDA Commissioner Martin Makary announced\u00a0Saturday\u00a0that the FDA has granted Ibogaine\u00a0investigational\u00a0new drug clearance, paving the way for the first-ever human trials in the U.S.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone is so strongly in favor of this,\u201d\u00a0Trump said. \u201cIt is for a lot of people, but it is for our military, in particular.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump was joined in the Oval Office by other Ibogaine advocates, including Austin podcast mogul Joe Rogan;\u00a0Texas\u00a0Congressman\u00a0Morgan Luttrell,\u00a0R-Magnolia; and his brother, veteran and author Marcus Luttrell, who is known as the \u201cLone Survivor\u201d for chronicling his experience during the 2005 Operation Red Wings in\u00a0Afghanistan.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n