Veterans are traveling to Mexico to Get Ibogaine for PTSD, now Trump Plans to Order Study on Psychedelic Drug

President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order aimed at expanding U.S. research into ibogaine, a psychedelic compound that some clinics abroad use to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, addiction, depression, and anxiety.

CBS News reported that the White House is drafting an order meant to encourage deeper federal study of the drug, particularly for veterans, while stopping short of reclassifying it for medical use in the United States. Ibogaine would remain a Schedule I substance under federal law.

The administration's goal is to help determine whether ibogaine is a legitimate treatment or what one official described as "snake oil." According to the report, the order is expected to open the door to more federal backing for research into PTSD and traumatic brain injuries, especially among military veterans, a group central to the political and medical push around the drug.

As part of the medical tourism trend, U.S. residents have increasingly traveled to clinics in Mexico and the Caribbean because ibogaine is illegal in the United States and unavailable through regulated domestic treatment programs.

Interest in the drug has also grown at the state level. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 2308 in June 2025, approving state support for ibogaine research into neurological and mental health conditions. More recently, The Texas Tribune reported that the state is moving forward with independent clinical trials after lawmakers last year approved $50 million to study the psychedelic and try to move it toward possible FDA review.

The scientific picture remains early and unsettled. in 2024 that ibogaine, when paired with magnesium to reduce cardiac risk, was associated with improvements in functioning, PTSD, depression and anxiety in a small study of 30 veterans with traumatic brain injuries. The study, also indexed by PubMed and published in Nature Medicine, was observational and did not include a placebo group, which limits how broadly the findings can be applied.

Ibogaine is a naturally occurring psychoactive compound derived from the root bark of the Tabernanthe iboga plant, a shrub native to Central and West Africa, particularly countries like Gabon, Cameroon, and the Republic of Congo. For centuries, it has been used in spiritual and healing ceremonies within the Bwiti religious tradition, where it is valued for its intense, introspective effects. In modern contexts, ibogaine has drawn attention for its potential to treat addiction, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other mental health conditions, although it remains illegal in the United States and classified as a Schedule I substance due to concerns about safety and lack of large-scale clinical evidence