Trump Signs Order to Accelerate FDA Reviews of Psychedelic Drugs

President Trump signed an executive order on Saturday aimed at speeding up FDA reviews of certain psychedelic drugs that he says are already designated as "breakthrough therapy" drugs.

The Details: Trump was flanked in the Oval Office by Joe Rogan (Center bias), Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Americans for Ibogaine CEO Bryan Hubbard, and others. The order will most notably affect ibogaine, which will see $50 million earmarked for its research at the state level.

Key Quotes: Rogan stressed the large number of opioid deaths in the US and said, "We have a gigantic opioid problem in this country, obviously… with one dose of ibogaine, more than 80% of people are free of that addiction. With two doses, it's more than 90%. I sent him that information. The text message came back, 'Sounds great, do you want FDA approval? Let's do it.'" Trump replied, "We all respect Joe. He's a little bit more liberal than I am, but that's ok. I have a lot of friends who are liberal… He wrote me a little note about this, and I had it checked out. I didn't just do it… I went to [RFK Jr.] and [Medicaid Chief Dr. Mehmet] Oz… and everybody came back with the same answer."

For Context: Ibogaine is made from the root of a Central African shrub and has drawn interest from researchers for its potential to treat opioid addiction. Rogan said the psychedelics are illegal because of the Nixon administration's 1970 Controlled Substances Act, which he claimed was signed to "target" the "civil rights" and "anti-war" movements.

How The Media Covered It: Across the spectrum, outlets framed the news very differently in their leads. Fox News (Right) leaned heavily on direct quotes from Trump that said in his own words what the order is aimed to achieve. Fortune (Center) wrote in its opening that ibogaine "has been embraced by combat veterans and conservative lawmakers despite having serious safety risks." The New York Times (Lean Left) used a slanted verb in its opening, saying the Trump administration aims to "hasten" research, while most other outlets used "accelerate" or "speed up." The Times prominently claimed the order will "most immediately benefit Texas, which has already committed $50 million to studying ibogaine but recently failed to secure matching funds from a private drug developer."

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