The Trump Admin's Embrace of Psychedelics: 'Breakthrough' or Premature?

President Trump signed an executive order to accelerate the FDA review of psychedelic drugs last week after initially being prompted to do so by Joe Rogan (Center bias). Some media commentators have pushed back against the conservative embrace of the drugs.

For Context: When the news broke, outlets from the left and center were more skeptical and critical of the move than outlets from the right, which generally emphasized the move as a step forward. For instance, The Daily Wire (Right) framed the news as "breakthrough mental health care" in a headline and noted that veterans may benefit the most.

Not Enough: Ross Ellenhorn and Dimitri Mugianis, founders of the psychedelic care company Cardea, noted in an opinion for STAT (Center) how Republicans have warmed to the idea of using psychedelics to help veterans in recent years but said, "something essential is missing from this new enthusiasm." They said they have seen ibogaine and other psychedelics deliver results, but that they "do not work in isolation" and that "the research on recovery tells a much less glamorous story than the headlines about breakthrough compounds." The authors also criticized the Trump administration for some of its other policies: "You cannot detox a veteran with ibogaine and then send him back into housing insecurity, understaffed mental health systems, and shrinking social support. That is not innovation. It is abandonment wrapped in the language of breakthrough medicine."

More Research: Kevin Sabet, CEO of Smart Approaches to Marijuana and a former drug policy adviser in both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama White Houses, questioned Joe Rogan's bullishness on ibogaine in an opinion for UnHerd (Center). Sabet described the research cited by Rogan as "weak" and said more "methodically rigorous" studies will have to be conducted. "That work cannot be subordinated to political convenience or hype," he concluded. "Nor should drug policy be shaped by Silicon Valley venture interests or the influence of media personalities such as Joe Rogan."

Good Idea: The Washington Post Editorial Board (Lean Left) called Trump's order "a welcome gesture to support serious research." In an NPR (Lean Left) podcast, Marine veteran and author Jay Kopelman said, "Bravo to President Trump… Thank God I had this medicine."

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