Advocates attend a news conference about the “impact of incarcerating those charged with marijuana-related offenses,” and policy reform ideas, outside the U.S. Capitol on 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 speed up research on drugs like psilocybin, MDMA and ibogaine, helping to legitimize an industry that’s long lived largely underground.
But it also raises a broader question: Will psychedelics fall victim, like cannabis has, to a slow-moving federal process?
The latest executive order comes roughly four months after an effort by President Donald Trump to reschedule cannabis, opening the door to greater research and investment opportunities. But since that directive, progress to reclassify cannabis has largely stalled, with the Drug Enforcement Administration review still ongoing and no final decision on moving marijuana from Schedule I to the lesser Schedule III.
The delay reflects how drug policy often slows once it enters interagency review, where scientific evaluation, legal standards and politics meet.
“The process has certainly been slow and frustrating for stakeholders when you consider they have spent decades fighting marijuana’s outrageous 1970s-era misclassification,” 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 healthcare stakeholders focused on evidence-based cannabis policy.
The psychedelics order, however, focuses on research acceleration rather than legalization. It directs agencies like 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 drug scheduling unchanged.
AtaiBeckley is among a number of psychedelic-focused drug developers that’s rallying since the order was signed over the weekend, up roughly 25% Monday. Several smaller-market cap stocks also jumped, including Compass Pathways, Definium Therapeutics and U.S.-listed shares of Cybin.
Hauser said the recent psychedelics order reflects a broader shift in Washington toward a medical-first framework, and could mark a path forward for cannabis rescheduling.
“The science-, patient-, health care-first approach is winning in Washington right now,” she said.
“The psychedelic pathway — built on physical-led protocols, clinical research and compassionate use frameworks — is actually a model cannabis advocates should be studying and adopting more aggressively,” 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 with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and addiction, but cardiac risks flagged by Nora Volkow of the National…
Read More: Trump psychedelics executive order and what it means for cannabis
