On Saturday, Joe Rogan attended the White House to celebrate Trump signing an executive order he played a major role in pushing through. Yes, it’s the year 2026.
Standing alongside vaccine-skeptical Secretary of Health, Robert F. Kennedy, Trump signed an executive order encouraging psychedelic research. The order directed federal agencies to fast-track research, clinical trials, and other drug approval pathways for psychedelic therapeutics.
Against the apparent odds, the Republicans are now the party of psychedelics reforms.
The shift has been aided by long-term, corn-fed American campaigns on the benefits of psychedelics for PTSD relief for veterans and for opiate addiction. The Department of Veterans Affairs is now a participant is psychedelics research trials.
Although California and Oregon are known for drug therapies and recreational legalisation, Republican states like Kentucky and Texas have also been supportive of therapeutic initiatives along these lines.
The opiates issue was the centre of Rogan’s advocacy. “I sent President Trump some information,” Rogan told the press. “We have a gigantic opiates problem in this country, obviously. In 2024, more than 80,000 people died of overdoses. […] There’s more than 5 million people that are addicted to opiates right now in this country.
“With one dose of ibogaine, more than 80% of people are free of that addiction. With two doses, it’s more than 90%.
“I sent [Trump] that information,” Rogan continued. “The text message came back, ‘Sounds great. Do you want FDA approval? Let’s do it.’”
Sometimes outsized executive power produces a good result. But also stopping the world economy from imploding depends on the president’s son-in-law.
Advocacy groups, such as the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), are also jubilant. “This is the turning point – a turning point we’ve waited 40 years for.
“Outdated policy has blocked science and access to care for decades,” said MAPS. “The people who’ve paid the highest price are often the ones with the fewest options to begin with: veterans, trauma survivors, and people living with substance use disorders. Today’s action begins to change that.”
Of course the discourse around drugs hasn’t really changed much. Smiling for the cameras, Trump concluded the session with a classic dad joke, “Can I have some, please?”
For what it’s worth, Trump wouldn’t be approved for ibogaine treatment by any responsible physician. Camouflaged by Rogan’s “one-dose” rhetoric is the fact that ibogaine treatment is famously harrowing subjectively, lasting 18 to 36 hours besides being taxing for those with heart and blood pressure issues.
It is a severe treatment. But then, opiate addiction is a severe condition.
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