Podcast host Joe Rogan appeared with President Donald Trump on Saturday during an Oval Office ceremony in which Trump signed an executive order aimed at increasing the potential usage of some psychedelic drugs that might be effective against mental health issues.
“Today’s order will ensure that people suffering from debilitating symptoms might finally have a chance to reclaim their lives and lead a happier life,” Trump said, according to The Hill.
Trump said the drugs involved will be in “advanced stages of clinical trials.”
Rogan said he interviewed former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Bryan Hubbard on his show, and he was intrigued by their belief that psychedelics could help Americans, according to USA Today.
“They told me how impactful this medicine is,” Rogan said.
He said on his podcast that “millions of people got a chance to hear their story, hear the stories of all the different people that have had life changing experiences from it.”
And so he contacted Trump.
“I sent him that information. The text message that came back: ‘Sounds great. Do you want FDA approval? Let’s do it.’ Literally that quick,” he said, according to The Hill.
Trump said of the decision, “I got a call from a number of people, including the great Joe Rogan, and he said, we have to do something about this. And I looked into it.”
Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the machine of government roared into high gear after the two connected.
He said it was an “unimaginable task in one week to be able to go from a series of connections and communications with Joe Rogan” to a final executive order, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has supported an increase in access to psychedelic medicines, and even before Rogan’s push, he was moving to lower barriers for some psychedelic drugs.
The order framed Trump’s action as a step to address suicide, particularly among veterans.
“Suicide rates tragically increased by 37 percent from 2000 to 2018,” the order said.
“Critically, veterans often suffer in greater measure from this tragedy. For over 20 years, there have been more than 6,000 veteran suicides per year, and the current veteran suicide rate is more than twice as much as the non-veteran adult population,” the order said.
The order noted that “psychedelic drugs, including ibogaine compounds, show potential in clinical studies to address serious mental illnesses for patients whose conditions persist after completing standard therapy.”
“Indeed, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to specific psychedelic drugs, and there are numerous products currently in the clinical trial pipeline for review of safety and efficacy. It is the policy of my Administration to accelerate innovative research models and appropriate drug approvals to increase access to psychedelic drugs that could save lives and reverse the crisis of serious mental illness in America,” it said.
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