Bipartisan Bill Seeks to Cement Trump's Psychedelics Order Into Federal Law

Four members of the House have filed legislation meant to lock into federal statute an executive order President Donald Trump signed last month to speed research and patient access to psychedelic medicine. Reps. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX), Lou Correa (D-CA), Jack Bergman (R-MI) and Michael McCaul (R-TX) introduced the Initiating Biomedical Outcomes to Garner Advancements into Innovative Neuroplastogen Efficacy (IBOGAINE) Act on Tuesday. It would give the attorney general 60 days to decide whether to move ibogaine and related compounds from Schedule I to Schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act, and would require the attorney general and the health and human services secretary to start rescheduling reviews for any other Schedule I substance that completes Phase 3 trials. The bill defines ibogaine to cover all parts of the Tabernanthe iboga plant and similar compounds acting on neuroplasticity, opioid receptors or serotonergic pathways that interrupt addiction or restore function disrupted by trauma, substance use or brain injury. It codifies a national priority voucher program for psychedelic therapy development, clarifies that the federal Right to Try law exempts seriously ill patients from the CSA under new special registration rules, and requires the DEA to update production quotas once a substance is rescheduled, FDA-approved or given breakthrough therapy status. It also sets up a framework for federal-state research partnerships and for health agencies and the VA to work with private industry on trials and data sharing. "Last month, President Trump ushered in a new era of treatment options for our veterans with his executive order accelerating medical treatments for serious mental illness. Now we must codify it into law and ensure this progress is not lost," Luttrell said. "Psychedelic therapy has helped me and countless other veterans, improving our lives for the better. As we fight to combat our veteran suicide crisis, this breakthrough must be available to the men and women who served our nation." Bergman said an order "cannot rewrite federal law, and it can be reversed by a future administration," which is why he backs codifying the directives and pushing Congress to streamline FDA approvals and ensure VA implementation. Luttrell and several cosponsors also back an NDAA amendment extending a Pentagon psychedelics research effort six more years, cleared this week by the House Rules Committee. Correa and Bergman co-chair the Congressional Psychedelics Advancing Therapies Caucus, previously pushed a VA funding bill amendment on psychedelic therapy and led 32 lawmakers urging FDA to speed reviews. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) has praised Trump's psychedelics and marijuana rescheduling moves. Following the order, FDA and HHS announced steps to accelerate access. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a February Joe Rogan Experience interview his agency is "very anxious" to issue rules for supervised psilocybin and MDMA access, adding, "I think that we're going to get it done." VA Secretary Doug Collins said in April he had an "eye-opening" talk with Kennedy and is open to vouchers covering veterans' outside-VA psychedelic therapy. A separate bill would give VA $30 million yearly for psychedelic treatment centers, and a Senate committee held a hearing last month on creating a VA office to research and review scheduling of psilocybin, ibogaine and MDMA. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) has called ibogaine an "astonishing breakthrough" for the country's health system.