How Trump is pushing psychedelics reform through the health agencies

WASHINGTON — President Trump moved on Saturday to “reverse the crisis of serious mental illness in America” by boosting access to psychedelic drugs in clinical settings. In an executive order, he directed the federal government to rush access to treatments and reevaluate their status as controlled substances.

The order directs the Food and Drug Administration to expedite some psychedelics as breakthrough drugs, as well as allowing them to be used through right-to-try legislation, which allow terminally ill patients to try experimental drugs outside of usual regulatory pathways.

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Opinion: The podcast bringing together MAHA and public health for hard conversations

Below is a lightly edited, AI-generated transcript of the “First Opinion Podcast” interview with Brinda Adhikari and Tom W. Johnson, hosts of the podcast “Why Should I Trust You?” Be sure to sign up for the weekly “First Opinion Podcast” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Get alerts about each new episode by signing up for the “First Opinion Podcast” newsletter. And don’t forget to sign up for the First Opinion newsletter, delivered every Sunday.

Torie Bosch: In 2025, the well-known emergency physician Craig Spencer found himself in an unexpected place: the Children’s Health Defense Conference in Austin, Texas. There, he chatted with anti-vaccine activists, MAHA supporters, and others with deep distrust of doctors and mainstream medicine. As he wrote in an essay for STAT about the experience, “I didn’t change any minds, nor did my convictions waver. But every conversation was honest and respectful.”

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