Joe Rogan Puts Trump Feud Aside at White House, Pushes Psychedelic Drug Fast-Tracking for Mental Health

Podcaster Joe Rogan took a break from publicly bashing President Donald Trump on Saturday and walked into the Oval Office for a cause he has championed for years: speeding access to psychedelic-based treatments for veterans struggling with addiction, post-traumatic stress disorder, and trauma.

Rogan appeared at a White House event as Trump signed an executive order aimed at accelerating research and treatment pathways involving psychedelics, including ibogaine, a controversial psychoactive substance that has attracted growing attention among veterans and advocates who say traditional therapies have failed too many people.

The symbolism was hard to miss, since Rogan has been openly criticizing some of Trump's biggest moves. He described his immigration policies as "horrific" and the trade tensions created by his administration's tariffs as "stupid." He also called the Iran war "crazy" and said Americans feel "betrayed."

But standing a few feet behind the Resolute Desk, Rogan looked less like a dissenter and more like an ally with a very specific mission.

• Veterans are traveling to Mexico to Get Ibogaine for PTSD

President Trump Signs an Executive Order, Apr. 18, 2026 https://t.co/xsVqeJG8i9

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 18, 2026

"I wanna tell everybody how this happened. I send President Trump some information," Rogan said during the event, according to video from the Oval Office that circulated Saturday.

He then described a lightning-fast response from the president.

"The text message came back. Sounds great. Do you want FDA approval? Let's do it. It was literally that quick."

🚨 WOW! Joe Rogan reveals President Trump IMMEDIATELY offered him FDA approval for a psychedelic treatment in a text chainBecause the data was SO CONVINCING and STUNNING"I wanna tell everybody how this happened. I send President Trump some information.""With one dose of… pic.twitter.com/dnqYVf96hN

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 18, 2026

Trump, for his part, cast the initiative as an answer to a deepening veterans mental health crisis.

The broader crisis he referenced is real, even if the politics around the solution are already intense. The Department of Veterans Affairs said in February that 6,398 veterans died by suicide in 2023, down slightly from 6,442 in 2022. That still works out to an average of 17.5 veteran suicides per day. The VA also said 61% of veterans who died by suicide in 2023 were not receiving VA health care in the last year of their lives.

PTSD remains a major part of that landscape. According to the VA's National Center for PTSD, among the 5.8 million veterans served by VA in fiscal year 2024, about 14% of men and 24% of women were diagnosed with PTSD. The agency also notes that veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan have had especially elevated rates in multiple studies.

• Megyn Kelly Says She'd Back Trump 'Even If He Dropped a Nuke' as Iran War Divides Conservative Voices
• President Trump Calls Tucker Carlson 'Low IQ Person' in Latest Attack Over Iran Criticism
• Alex Jones Questions the President's Health, Urges GOP to 'Cut Bait' Ahead of Midterms: 'Trump Is in Free Fall'

That is the crisis Rogan used to make his case for ibogaine, which remains illegal in the United States. Derived from a West African shrub, ibogaine has long been promoted by some researchers, veterans and alternative treatment advocates as a possible breakthrough for opioid dependence, PTSD and traumatic brain injury. But it is also controversial because of safety concerns, especially cardiac risks, and because it remains a Schedule I drug under federal law.

Rogan leaned into the broader history of that prohibition in the Oval Office.

"These drugs are illegal not because they are harmful, they are illegal because of the 1970 Controlled Substances Act passed by the Richard Nixon administration," he said. "They did it to target the civil rights movement and the antiwar movement."

He added, "For 56 years, we've lived under those terrible conditions. We're free of that now."

© 2025 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.