Congressional Bills Would Expand VA Research
President Donald Trump signed the new executive order accelerating research and improving access to psychedelic drugs as promising treatments for serious mental illnesses. Veterans will be key beneficiaries of the fast tracked processed. White House photo.
WASHINGTON, DC — An executive order recently signed by President Donald Trump paves the way for expanded federal research into the use of psychedelics to treat mental health disorders, as well as directing the Food and Drug Administration to fast-track products shown to have promising results.
At the same time, bipartisan legislation has been introduced that would direct VA to expand its own research into psychedelics and create centers of excellence where veterans can receive any treatments found to be effective.
For years, veterans’ advocates, along with legislators on both sides of the aisle, have pressed VA to take psychedelic therapies more seriously, and in recent years have achieved some traction on the issue. In December 2024, VA announced it was funding a study on Methylenedioxymethamphetamine-assisted, or MDMA-assisted, therapy for PTSD and alcohol-use disorder among veterans. This was the first VA-funded study into psychedelic-assisted therapy since the 1960s.
In November 2025, VA announced it was expanding its trials to nine other VA facilities and included treatment-resistant depression and anxiety disorders among the conditions being studied.
For decades, veterans have circulated stories of the success they’ve had with MDMA, LSD, psilocybin and other hallucinogenics, as treatments for PTSD, depression and anxiety when conventional therapies have failed. Efforts to legitimize such therapy have repeatedly encountered roadblocks, however, most notably widespread skepticism and government restrictions. MDMA, LSD and similar hallucinogens are categorized as Schedule 1 drugs, which means they are considered to have the highest risk of abuse.
The new executive order has the potential to cut through some of this long-standing red tape.
“Psychedelic drugs, including ibogaine compounds, show potential in clinical studies to address serious mental illnesses for patients whose conditions persist after completing standard therapy,” Trump wrote in the order released last month. “Indeed, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to specific psychedelic drugs, and there are numerous products currently in the clinical trial pipeline for review of safety and efficacy. It is the policy of my Administration to accelerate innovative research models and appropriate drug approvals to increase access to psychedelic drugs that could save lives and reverse the crisis of serious mental illness in America.”
Breakthrough Therapy designation allows for an expedited development and review process for drugs that address a serious condition and prove to be a substantial improvement over existing therapies. The order directs FDA to provide Commissioner’s National Priority Vouchers (CNVP) to psychedelic drugs that have received such a designation.
Announced in June 2025, the CNVP program would dramatically reduce review times for drugs and biologicals if the product responds to a public health crisis, is an innovative breakthrough therapy, there are large unmet medical needs and would bolster the nation’s supply chain or would provide significantly reduced costs compared to existing products.
Combined with the Breakthrough Therapy designation, the voucher process could significantly speed up the bench to bedside pathway for psychedelic therapies.
The president also ordered FDA and the Drug Enforcement Administration to establish a pathway for eligible patients to access psychedelics, including ibogaine compounds. Ibogaine, an alkali derived from a shrub native to Africa, has been found to reduce opioid withdrawal symptoms and helped achieve long-term cessation or reduced use.
Along with speeding up approval processes, the order directs the Department of Health & Human Services to allocate at least $50 million from existing funds to work with state governments that have enacted or are developing programs to advance psychedelic drugs for serious mental illnesses. It also orders HHS, FDA and VA to sign a data-sharing memorandum to ensure that outcomes of relevant clinical studies are disseminated among all the agencies in a timely manner.
Shortly before the signing of the executive order, lawmakers in the Senate introduced a bill requiring VA to designate at least five of its medical facilities as “innovative therapies centers of excellence.”
“When I came back from Iraq, I saw my fellow Marines, like so many other veterans, struggle to get the help they needed,” bill-cosponsor Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) said in a statement. “The Innovative Therapies Centers of Excellence Act will ensure the VA keeps pace with the private sector by expanding access to cutting-edge treatments like MDMA-assisted therapy, promoting ongoing research on veteran health outcomes and closing gaps in treatment services for our veterans who need it most.”
Companion legislation was introduced in the House in April 2025, where it is awaiting consideration by the VA Health Subcommittee.