Story perspectives

Trump Orders Psychedelic Therapies for Mental Illness

4/25/2026

Summary

Trump Orders Psychedelics

Karoline Leavitt posted on April 20, 2026 a fact sheet announcing President Donald Trump’s order to use psychedelic therapies for mental illness.
Health and Human Services (HHS), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Veterans Administration (VA) run LSD, psilocybin, ecstasy and ibogaine studies.
President Donald Trump joked about firing Leavitt, saying he would keep her.
Governor Gavin Newsom mocked order with “For himself?” while Aaron Rupar said he was glad president was “getting help.”

Summary

Trump Health Scrutiny

At the White House health-care affordability event on April 23 2026, President Donald Trump joked about a drug named TrumpRx.
Meidas Touch commentator Ben Meiselas said President Donald Trump skipped his 2026 annual physical, recalling an October 2025 exam and an undisclosed MRI the president called perfect.
Online users repurposed Leavitt’s fact sheet to allege President Donald Trump’s mental-illness treatment was fast-tracked, prompting backlash that the health-policy announcement turned into personal health scrutiny.

History

Historical Context

In 2018 the FDA granted breakthrough-therapy designation to psilocybin, the first federal endorsement of a Schedule I psychedelic for treatment-resistant depression. The move followed decades of prohibition under the Controlled Substances Act and state-level reforms such as Oregon’s 2020 legalization of therapeutic psilocybin. President Trump’s 2026 executive order expands federal trials, building on that regulatory shift.

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Trump Orders Psychedelics

Karoline Leavitt posted on April 20, 2026 a fact sheet announcing President Donald Trump’s order to use psychedelic therapies for mental illness.
Health and Human Services (HHS), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Veterans Administration (VA) run LSD, psilocybin, ecstasy and ibogaine studies.
President Donald Trump joked about firing Leavitt, saying he would keep her.
Governor Gavin Newsom mocked order with “For himself?” while Aaron Rupar said he was glad president was “getting help.”

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