Advocates participate in a press conference about “the impact of incarcerating people accused of marijuana-related crimes” and policy reform ideas outside the U.S. Capitol on Monday, April 20, 2026.
Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | getty images
A White House executive order on psychedelics signed by President Donald Trump on Saturday aims to accelerate research on drugs like psilocybin, MDMA and ibogaine, helping legalize an industry that has long remained largely underground.
But it also raises a broader question: Will psychedelics, like cannabis, fall victim to the slow-moving federal process?
The latest executive order comes nearly four months after President Donald Trump attempted to reschedule cannabis, opening the door to more research and investment opportunities. But since that directive, progress on reclassifying cannabis has largely stalled, with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s review still ongoing and no final decision on moving marijuana from Schedule I to the lower Schedule III.
The delay reflects how drug policy often slows down once it enters interagency review, where scientific assessment, legal standards and politics meet.
“This process has certainly been slow and frustrating for stakeholders when you consider they have spent decades fighting the abusive misclassification of marijuana dating back to the 1970s,” said Shawn Hauser, partner at cannabis law firm Vicente LLP.
Vicente LLP also serves as legal counsel for the National Compassionate Care Council (NCCC), a coalition of health care stakeholders focused on evidence-based cannabis policy.
However, the psychedelics order focuses on research acceleration rather than legalization. It directs agencies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to expand clinical trials and “right to try” access for patients with serious mental health conditions, while leaving medication schedules unchanged.
ataibekele The stock is one of several psychedelic-focused drug developers rallying after the order was signed over the weekend, up nearly 25% on Monday. Many small-market cap stocks also surged, including compass path, Definium Therapeutics and Cybin’s US-listed shares.
Hauser said the recent psychedelics order reflects a broader shift toward a medicine-first framework in Washington, and could mark the way forward for cannabis rescheduling.
“Right now in Washington the science-, patient-, health care-first approach is winning,” he said.
“The psychedelic pathway – built on physical-led protocols, clinical research and a compassionate use framework – is exactly a model that cannabis advocates should more aggressively study and adopt,” Hauser said.
safety first
Trump’s psychedelics measure has drawn particular attention for its inclusion of ibogaine, a powerful, naturally occurring psychoactive compound with longstanding safety concerns.
The drug is being studied for its applications in post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and addiction, but cardiovascular risks remain a major hurdle, pointed out by Nora Volkow of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
This tension has been heightened by the expansion of “right to try” access, a federal law that allows patients suffering from life-threatening diseases or conditions to try experimental drugs when no other treatments work. This distinction generally applies only after successful Phase I trials.
Ibogaine has struggled to meet that criteria, because most of the research on the drug has been conducted outside the US.
Psychedelic industry leaders say the order makes sense, but the full effects are still unknown until implementation is proven to have scientific value.
“The opportunity now is not the hype, it’s the implementation: rigorous science, disciplined safety standards, physician-led protocols, and real-world outcomes data,” said Tom Feigel, CEO of Clinical Neurohealth Center Beyond.
Beyond, based in Cancún, Mexico, specializes in ibogaine therapy.
Feigel said that while the executive order signals legitimacy at the highest levels of government, the next step is important.
Psychedelics still lack a commercial market, although clinical-stage developers such as Atibecl, Compass, and GH Research are emerging. Many prioritize research around less controversial psychedelics such as psilocybin and MDMA derivatives for mental health treatment.
US states are also considering this location. Colorado advanced regulated psychedelic access to its residents in 2022, while a Massachusetts ballot measure failed in 2024, with 56% of voters rejecting access.
Cannabis, by contract, is already a multibillion-dollar adult-use industry in dozens of states, giving it a significant head start even with federal redistricting unresolved.
Hauser argued that both industries are ultimately reinforcing each other.
“The two regulatory tracks are not in conflict,” he said. “Both are pushing for broader legalization of plant-based alternative medicines, and the infrastructure being built for one will inevitably support the other.”
