The White House is drafting an executive order that signals the Trump administration wants to take a closer look at ibogaine, a psychedelic compound used abroad to treat post-traumatic stress disorder.
The plan—expected to move quickly—doesn’t mean ibogaine becomes legal medicine in the U.S. for now. As Misryoum newsroom reported, President Trump intends to sign the executive order as soon as this week. Two sources also said White House spokespeople didn’t comment immediately. The drug would remain a Schedule I substance, the same category it’s in today, grouped by the Drug Enforcement Administration alongside heroin, ecstasy and other drugs described as having “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.”
Ibogaine is naturally occurring and comes from a shrub native to Africa. In some countries, it’s used not only for PTSD, but also for depression, anxiety, addiction and brain trauma. But because it’s illegal in the United States, Americans have been traveling to unregulated clinics—often in Mexico or the Caribbean—to take it. One veteran who went through such a retreat reportedly described the week as intense, with the quiet heaviness of sleep interrupted by memories that felt too loud; the smell of antiseptic in a clinic hallway is the kind of detail that sticks when you’re trying to picture what “treatment” really means out there.
Misryoum newsroom reported that the executive action is meant to open the door for federal research funding, particularly studies examining ibogaine’s effectiveness for PTSD and traumatic brain injuries, including among veterans. Texas, meanwhile, has already been pushing: Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill approving $50 million for research last year. Administration officials, according to Misryoum editorial desk, said the research is in an early phase. The administration also wants to help determine whether the therapy is “snake oil” or a legitimate treatment—an argument that, frankly, depends on what good clinical trials show once the hype is stripped away.
The science so far is mixed and limited. Researchers say ibogaine could eventually fill a gap in addiction treatment, especially for opioid dependence, but larger-scale clinical trials are needed before anyone can call it safe or effective for any condition. Misryoum analysis indicates that the evidence base has mostly been small observational studies and open-label trials. Only one double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial has been completed, and more advanced trials are only now getting underway.
There’s also a reason regulators have kept their distance: the heart. Ibogaine can cause dangerous heart rhythm disturbances, which can be fatal. A 2023 review in 24 studies involving 705 people found that ibogaine appeared to reduce withdrawal symptoms and craving, but the review also described toxicity to the heart and risk of death as “worrying.” At least 27 people died after taking ibogaine, the 2023 report showed.
At least one smaller study offers a glimpse of what safer administration might look like. In a study of 30 veterans who received ibogaine paired with intravenous magnesium to protect the heart, no serious cardiac events were reported. That work was published last July by Stanford Medicine and found the drug, when combined with magnesium, safely reduced post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression in veterans. But with only 30 people and no placebo group, the evidence is far too thin to know whether magnesium reliably reduces risk. And in the international clinics where many Americans currently go, Misryoum editorial team noted there’s no standardized heart screening, no required monitoring protocol and no obligation to report adverse events—so researchers can’t easily compare outcomes or identify patterns.
If the executive order leads to federal funding and well-designed trials, it could finally clarify which claims about ibogaine are worth testing—and which ones are just dangerous stories told faster than evidence. Still, even if research accelerates, the central question won’t be whether ibogaine can change symptoms. It will be whether it can do that without putting patients’ hearts in the crosshairs, and whether the benefits hold up under more rigorous comparisons.
Let Them Theory: Mel Robbins’ message on boundaries