Donald Trump has ordered a sweeping rethink of US drug policy in Washington, signing an executive order to accelerate research into psychedelic medicines and directing his administration to reschedule medical marijuana, in what advocates describe as a decisive break from the Republican Party's traditional 'war on drugs' stance.
The shift comes after decades in which Republican leaders championed harsh criminal penalties and 'just say no' messaging, a posture rooted in Richard Nixon's drug crackdown and reinforced through the 1980s and 1990s. Under Trump, the White House is now flirting with a very different idea: that some banned substances, including cannabis and psychedelic compounds, might have legitimate medical value and should be easier to study and potentially prescribe.
Last week, Donald Trump signed an executive order instructing federal agencies to loosen research restrictions on psychedelic drugs as potential treatments for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use disorders. The move was paired with $50 million in federal funding to support state-level efforts and a directive to the Food and Drug Administration to fast-track reviews of psychedelic therapies that clear early scientific hurdles.
At the signing event, held in the Oval Office, Trump shared the room with administration officials, Republican legislators, military veterans and podcaster Joe Rogan. In a moment that underscored how far the conversation has drifted from the old law-and-order script, Trump reportedly joked to the gathering: 'Can I have some please?' when psychedelics were mentioned.
Days later, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche followed up with an order to reclassify state-licensed medical marijuana as less dangerous under federal law. Recreational cannabis remains illegal nationwide, and marijuana is still technically listed as a Schedule I substance alongside heroin and LSD, but Blanche framed the step as part of a broader health agenda.
The Justice Department, he said, was 'delivering on President Trump's promise to expand Americans' access to medical treatment options.' On their own, neither decision tears up existing drug laws. Psychedelics remain banned outside research settings, and there is no endorsement of recreational use. Yet taken together, they mark a striking realignment.
Veterans And 'Make America Healthy Again' Push Donald Trump
Advocates argue that the change under Donald Trump is not simply ideological but driven by a coalition that would have been unthinkable a decade ago. Bryan Hubbard, chief executive of Americans for Ibogaine, an organisation promoting research into the psychoactive compound ibogaine for addiction treatment, said the president's willingness to move quickly reflects an openness to new ideas rather than inherited dogma.
'Regardless of what one may think of the president ... he seems to be someone who is open to innovation and is not imprisoned by dogmatic viewpoints,' Hubbard said, crediting veterans in particular for reshaping conservative attitudes to psychedelics.
Many of the Republicans now publicly advocating clinical research into substances once associated with the counterculture are former service members themselves. At the White House signing, Rep Morgan Luttrell, a retired Navy SEAL from Texas, stood behind Trump alongside his brother Marcus, also a retired SEAL. Luttrell co-chairs the Congressional Psychedelics Advancing Therapies Caucus, a cross-party group pressing for 'rigorous and urgent clinical research' into these treatments, together with Republican Jack Bergman and Democrat Lou Correa.
According to Hubbard, having decorated 'warfighters' speaking frankly about their own mental health struggles and the potential benefits of psychedelic-assisted therapy has been pivotal. 'The warfighter messengers around psychedelics are able to eventually reverse the stigma that has long been associated with the countercultural left,' he said. 'They have been able to demonstrate, hey, it's real, it's legitimate, and it's to be taken seriously.'
The broader 'Make America Healthy Again' movement, which blends wellness culture, distrust of traditional pharmaceuticals and a rhetoric of 'health freedom,' has also found a receptive ear in Trump's populist base. Figures such as Elon Musk, Joe Rogan and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who has made easier access to psychedelics one of his central priorities, have helped drag the conversation further into the mainstream.
Trump himself suggested his interest was piqued relatively recently. He told the Oval Office audience that Rogan had texted him about ibogaine research, prompting Trump's characteristically brisk response: 'Sounds great. Do you want FDA approval? Let's do it.'
Marijuana, Psychedelics And The Limits Of Caution
If Donald Trump is moving quickly, supporters say it is in part a reaction against what they see as excessive hesitation under Joe Biden. The Biden administration did authorise federal agencies to study the medical potential of psychedelics and began the lengthy process of reclassifying marijuana, but that rescheduling was not completed before Biden left office. The FDA also rejected an application to use MDMA, or ecstasy, combined with talk therapy, as a treatment for PTSD.
Melissa Lavasani, founder of the Psychedelic Medicine Coalition, said dealing with Trump's team has felt noticeably different. 'With the Biden administration, there was an extra layer of political cautiousness that ... doesn't really exist with the Trump administration,' she argued, adding that conversations with federal officials are now more direct and 'creative' about how to move research forward.
Rick Doblin, founder and president of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, drew an historical parallel. In his view, it has sometimes been easier for Republicans to execute policies vulnerable to 'soft on drugs' attacks against Democrats. 'I think it's kind of like the Nixon goes to China story, that that could only have been done by a Republican administration,' he said. With bipartisan interest growing and research mounting, Doblin believes this particular Republican White House finds it easier 'to be more bold'.
Within the cannabis sector, some saw Trump's pivot coming. Adam Rosenberg, chair of the board of the National Cannabis Industry Association, said he had assumed that a move on marijuana might unlock a broader rethink on other banned substances. Cannabis, he suggested, was 'an icebreaker' helping lawmakers acknowledge that the long-standing approach to 'entheogenic plants and fungi' had failed and that there was genuine therapeutic potential being ignored.
Still, resistance inside the Republican Party is sharp. Social conservatives are uneasy at the pace of change and suspicious of any normalisation of drug use. Anne Schlafly Cori, chair of the influential Eagle Forum, dismissed Trump's decisions as naïve. 'Trump is famous for not doing anything more than Diet Coke, so all I can think of is that he doesn't realize the dangers that he is unleashing,' she said.
In December, ahead of Trump's initial announcement on marijuana rescheduling, 22 Senate Republicans wrote to the White House urging him to halt the process, citing fears over addiction, economic costs and road safety. Following the latest moves, Arkansas senator Tom Cotton again took aim at the policy on X, warning that modern marijuana is 'much more potent than just ten or twenty years ago' and blaming it for 'increased psychosis, anti-social behavior, and fatal car crashes.' The change, he said, was 'a step in the wrong direction.'
Marijuana today is much more potent than just ten or twenty years ago, leading to increased psychosis, anti-social behavior, and fatal car crashes. Arkansans don’t want more dangerous drugs obtained more easily. A change to marijuana’s drug classification is a step in the wrong…
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) April 23, 2026
Nothing in Trump's new approach guarantees rapid legalisation or a seamless roll-out of psychedelic therapies. Much of what has been announced so far is about clearing bureaucratic hurdles rather than re-writing criminal law, and many of the hoped-for treatment benefits still rest on ongoing clinical trials.
None of the new therapies or rescheduling measures is fully confirmed at this stage, and all should be treated with a degree of caution until regulators complete their reviews.
