Jon Stewart routinely derides President Donald Trump on his Comedy Central infotainment show. This week, however, the cynical liberal found himself reluctantly celebrating the president over a new mental health initiative that could greatly impact afflicted veterans.
Trump signed an executive order on Saturday aimed at accelerating research and removing barriers to psychedelic drugs — including hallucinogenic ibogaine compounds, psilocybin, and LSD — as potential treatments for serious mental illnesses, including PTSD and depression.
‘Credit where credit is due.’
In addition to tasking Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary with reducing product application review times for psychedelic drugs that have received breakthrough therapy designations for treating mental illnesses, Trump ordered the FDA and Drug Enforcement Agency to create a pathway for eligible patients to access investigational psychedelic drugs.
Per the order, the Department of Health and Human Services and the FDA must also work with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the private sector “to increase clinical trial participation, data sharing, and real-world evidence generation regarding psychedelic drugs, and shall prioritize drugs that have received a Breakthrough Therapy designation.” Fifty million dollars will also be provided for state-level research into ibogaine.
The White House noted in a fact sheet that over 14 million American adults suffer from a serious mental illness; suicide rates remain alarmingly high; and the suicide rate among veterans is more than double that of the nonveteran adult population.
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Afforded an opportunity to speak at the signing ceremony on Saturday, podcaster Joe Rogan revealed that the ball got rolling on the executive order after he “sent President Donald Trump some information” about ibogaine.
Trump confirmed the genesis of the initiative, noting that Rogan “wrote me a little note about this, and I had it checked out. I didn’t just do it. … I went to [HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.] and [Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz] and went to some of the people that work for you, real pros, and everybody came back with the same answer.”
“Everybody thought it was incredible, and I told Bobby, I said, ‘Bobby, let’s just do it, and get Oz involved,” added Trump.
The president noted at the EO signing that “these experimental treatments have shown life-changing potential for those suffering from severe mental illness and depression, including our cherished veterans.”
On the April 20 episode of his show, Jon Stewart alerted his liberal audience that he wanted to “give credit where credit is due. We don’t, obviously, often do this.”
“The president did a solid over the weekend,” said Stewart. “President Trump signed an executive order in front of his fraternity brothers fast-tracking the FDA process for novel psychedelic drug treatments for veterans suffering from all forms of PTSD and other psychiatric conditions, including addiction.”
After playing tape from the EO signing and reflexively attacking the president over his unscripted remarks, Stewart stopped himself and said, “I’m sorry. I’m falling into old habits. It’s good. You did a good thing. I’m nitpicking. I apologize.”
Stewart noted further, “A lot of the people are going to get the help they need.”
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