Long Island veterans advocates divided by Trump's order fast-tracking psychedelic treatments

Long Island veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression could soon have a novel treatment option after President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to speed up reviews of certain psychedelic drugs, including the hallucinogen ibogaine.

Proponents of the order, including a former Navy SEAL from Long Island who founded a nonprofit that helps facilitate psychedelic-assisted therapies for service members, contend that mind-altering drugs such as ibogaine have served as alternative treatment options for veterans — albeit largely outside of the U.S., where it's currently banned — for years with little risk.

"This is a major milestone that we're really excited about," said Marcus Capone, who grew up in Long Beach and founded Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions [VETS], a Texas-based nonprofit, after struggling for years with the effects of traumatic brain injury and PTSD. "We're now starting to make progress in utilizing new technologies for individuals that are coming home from many years of combat. But truly, this is not just about veterans. This is for everyone. It opens the door for anyone struggling with treatment-resistant mental health."

But Long Island drug treatment experts remain skeptical and insist that psychedelics come with major mental health risks while ibogaine has been known to trigger potentially fatal heart problems.

"There's a strong argument for more research into psychedelics, and that research should be driven by science, not by politics, industry interests or anecdotes," said Jeffrey Reynolds, president and chief executive of the Garden City-based Family & Children’s Association, which provides drug treatment counseling. "Ibogaine has a mixed history, but is also expensive and comes with some significant health and mental health risks, especially if it's not administered properly.'

Cutting approval times

The executive order, signed Saturday in the White House, directs the Food and Drug Administration, Drug Enforcement Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs to cut red tape and review times on psychedelic drugs that have shown potential in addressing serious mental health illnesses for patients whose conditions persist after completing standard therapy.

Trump's order also directs the Department of Health and Human Services to allocate at least $50 million to states such as Texas that are developing programs to advance psychedelic drugs for serious mental illness. 

Two states — Oregon and Colorado — have legalized psychedelic therapy with psilocybin, the active ingredient in "magic mushrooms," but to date no hallucinogen has been approved by the FDA.

While Ibogaine is the only psychedelic mentioned by name in the order, LSD, MDMA, known as ecstasy or molly, and psilocybin have been examined as potential treatments for PTSD and depression.

"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 during an Oval Office event with HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., podcaster Joe Rogan and other supporters of psychedelic therapy.

FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary said the order will rapidly accelerate the approval timeline for certain psychedelic-based treatments.

"Drugs can get approved in weeks, not a year or a year-plus but in weeks, if they are in line with our national priorities," Makary said during the event.

Capone, who served multiple combat tours overseas, tried ibogaine — following years of therapy and failed prescription treatments — at a retreat in Mexico and found himself healed of all symptoms of traumatic brain injury and PTSD. 

To obtain the drug, most Americans travel to clinics in Central and South America.

"This is regulated, medicalized treatment for individuals that need them the most," said Capone, who attended the White House ceremony with his wife, Amber, who co-founded VETS. "So it's not like tomorrow you're going to be able to go ask a doctor for ibogaine treatment or be able to go to a clinic. We're not there yet. But this is the first step in allowing that to happen much faster in the near future."

A 2024 study by Stanford Medicine and VETS found that ibogaine effectively treated traumatic brain injuries in more than two dozen U.S. special operations forces veterans who received the drug at a laboratory in Mexico.

In total, 30 veterans, all men with a history of TBI and other psychiatric symptoms, were treated with oral ibogaine and magnesium sulfate — used to prevent heart complications associated with the hallucinogen — at a clinic in Mexico, where the drug is unregulated.

Participants experienced average reductions of 88% in PTSD symptoms, 87% in depression symptoms and 81% in anxiety symptoms, along with improvements in concentration, information processing, memory and impulsivity, Stanford found.

If ibogaine is ultimately removed from the prohibited substance list and approved for medical use in the U.S., it would be the first known sanctioned treatment for traumatic brain injury.

'Historic inflection point'

Ibogaine, the psychoactive component of the iboga plant, found only in the African rainforest, has been used for centuries in spiritual ceremonies because of its hallucinogenic properties.

Most recently, ibogaine, which is classified by the FDA as a Schedule 1 controlled substance, has been studied for use in the treatment of narcotics addiction and depression.

In 2024, then-President Joe Biden's FDA rejected MDMA as a treatment for PTSD, citing what they described as flawed study data, questionable research and potential drug risks, including heart problems.

But the Trump administration has been more open to alternative forms of therapeutics.

"The world is at a historic inflection point in the advancement of effective mental health treatments and the United States is now creating the global standard for how these innovative, life-saving technologies can alleviate suffering at scale," said Tom Feegel, CEO of Beond, a neuro-health center in Texas focused on ibogaine-assisted therapy. "The need is clear, the limitations of existing interventions are well documented, and the demand for solutions that deliver measurable, lasting outcomes continues to grow."

Between 2000 and 2020, more than 430,000 current and former service members nationwide were diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries, often caused by head trauma or blast explosions, leading to a host of other consequences, including PTSD, anxiety, depression, drug and alcohol abuse and suicide, according to state and federal statistics. Long Island has an estimated 81,000 veterans, the most of any region in the state.

Patrick Donohue of Islip, a veterans attorney and advocate with Project 9 Line, which helps former military members transition back to civilian life, said while he has not studied the effects of ibogaine, other psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin and LSD have proven helpful to vets.

"They're non-addictive. They could be one time use, even," said Donohue, who spent six months with the Army's 101st Airborne Division near a burn pit in Afghanistan that left him with a noncancerous brain tumor. "There's a whole class of drugs that exist that are psychedelic and that have no potential harmful effects at all."

But some local drug treatment experts contend psychedelics may provide false hope for those struggling with PTSD, anxiety and depression.

"Research takes a long time and good results are many years away. The science may show that some of these treatments are still dangerous," said Adam Birkenstock, director of programming at the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence in Westbury. "Before we get that data, I believe we'll see more people in our community viewing this order as an endorsement, and putting their health at risk. For anyone struggling and seeking solutions to difficult challenges in their lives, remember that Long Island has a lot of supports to offer you. Reach out to a therapist, community mental health center, or your doctor for advice before trying any risky and experimental treatments."

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.