Advocates attend a press conference on “the impact of incarcerating those charged with marijuana offenses” and ideas for policy reform, outside the U.S. Capitol, April 20, 2026.
Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
A White House executive order on psychedelics, signed Saturday by President Donald Trump, aims to accelerate research on drugs like psilocybin, MDMA and ibogaine, helping to legitimize an industry that has long lived largely underground.
But it also raises a broader question: Will psychedelics fall victim, like cannabis, to a slow federal process?
The latest executive order comes about four months after an attempt by President Trump to reschedule cannabis, opening the door to greater research and investment opportunities. But since that directive, progress on cannabis reclassification has largely stalled, with Drug Enforcement Administration review still pending and no final decision on moving marijuana from Schedule I to the lesser Schedule III.
This delay reflects the frequent slowdown in drug policy once it enters interagency review, where scientific assessment, legal standards and policy meet.
“The process has certainly been slow and frustrating for stakeholders considering they spent decades fighting the scandalous misclassification of marijuana in the 1970s,” said Shawn Hauser, a partner at cannabis law firm Vicente LLP.
Vicente LLP also serves as legal counsel to the National Compassionate Care Council, or NCCC, a coalition of healthcare stakeholders focused on evidence-based cannabis policy.
The psychedelic order, however, is focused on accelerating research 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 the drug formulary unchanged.
AtaiBeckley is among a number of psychedelic-focused drug developers whose shares have been rallying since the order was signed over the weekend, up about 25% on Monday. Several smaller market cap stocks also jumped, including Compass Ways, Therapeutic Definium and Cybin’s US-listed shares.
Hauser said the recent psychedelic order reflects a broader shift in Washington toward a medical-focused framework and could pave the way for cannabis rescheduling.
“The science-first, patient-first, health-care approach is winning in Washington right now,” she said.
“The psychedelic pathway — built on physician-led protocols, clinical research and compassionate use frameworks — is actually a model that cannabis advocates should study and adopt more aggressively,” Hauser said.
Safety first
Trump’s psychedelics measure drew particular attention because of the inclusion of ibogaine, a powerful, natural psychoactive compound that has drawn long-standing safety concerns.
The drug is being studied for applications in post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and drug addiction, but the heart risks noted by Nora Volkow of the National Institute on Drug Abuse remain a major obstacle.
This tension is heightened by the expansion of the “right to try,” a federal law allowing patients diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses or conditions to try experimental drugs when no other treatments work. This distinction generally only applies after successful completion of Phase I trials.
Ibogaine has struggled to meet these criteria because most of the research on the drug has been conducted outside of the United States.
Psychedelic industry executives say the order is significant, but its full impacts remain unknown until its implementation catches up and proves its scientific value.
“Today’s opportunity is not hype, but execution: rigorous science, disciplined safety standards, physician-led protocols and real-world outcomes data,” said Tom Feegel, CEO of Beond Neurohealth Clinical Center.
Beond, based in Cancun, Mexico, specializes in ibogaine therapy.
Feegel added that while the executive order demonstrates legitimacy at the highest levels of government, the next phase is crucial.
Psychedelics still lack a commercial market, although clinical-stage developers, such as AtaiBeckley, Compass and GH Research, are emerging. Many are prioritizing research into less controversial psychedelics like psilocybin and MDMA derivatives for mental health treatment.
American states have also weighed the question of space. Colorado advanced regulated access to psychedelics for its residents in 2022, while a ballot measure in Massachusetts failed in 2024, with 56% of voters rejecting access.
Cannabis, by contract, already has a multibillion-dollar adult-use industry in dozens of states, giving it a significant head start even if federal rescheduling remains unresolved.
Hauser argued that the two industries ultimately reinforce each other.
“The two regulatory strands are not in conflict,” she said. “Both advance the broader legitimacy of alternative herbal medicines, and infrastructure built for one will inevitably support the other.”