In brief
- Four US lawmakers—three Republicans and one Democrat—have introduced the “IBOGAINE Act” to codify parts of the White House’s executive order on psychedelics into law.
- The text would require the Attorney General to decide within 60 days whether to move ibogaine from Schedule I (no recognized medical use) to Schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act.
- The bill does not provide immediate clinical access; it must still pass through Congress and undergo subsequent regulations and special registration processes.
A bipartisan group in the US House of Representatives introduced the IBOGAINE Act in late June, a bill intended to cement into law parts of the executive order on psychedelics signed by the White House weeks earlier. The stated goal is to compel the Administration to decide, within legally mandated deadlines, whether ibogaine should remain classified among substances with no recognized medical use.
Who is behind it and what it proposes
The initiative bears the signatures of three Republicans—Morgan Luttrell (Texas), Jack Bergman (Michigan), and Michael McCaul (Texas)—and one Democrat, Lou Correa (California). Luttrell, a Navy SEAL veteran, has spoken publicly about his own experience with psychedelic therapies to treat the aftereffects of his military service, and that personal profile has shaped much of the public discourse surrounding the project. The bill’s acronym—Initiating Biomedical Outcomes to Garner Advancements into Innovative Neuroplastogen Efficacy Act—sums up the approach: treating ibogaine as a “neuroplastogen” with therapeutic potential, rather than merely a drug of abuse.
What would change in practice
The technical core of the text is a mandate for the US Attorney General: within 60 days of the law’s passage, they would have to determine whether to move ibogaine and its derivative compounds from Schedule I to Schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act, the category where some opioids with regulated medical use already reside. The project also extends this same mechanism to any other Schedule I substance that successfully completes Phase 3 clinical trials, addresses the operation of FDA priority review vouchers, and clarifies the scope of federal “right to try” laws for experimental treatments. Regarding veterans, it envisions the Department of Veterans Affairs collaborating with the private sector to expand the participation of former military personnel in clinical trials involving these types of therapies.
What it implies
It is important to keep in mind what this project does not do: it does not legalize ibogaine, it does not by itself open clinical access, and it does not even guarantee that the Attorney General will end up reclassifying it within that timeframe, as the obligation is to “determine” rather than “automatically reclassify.” The text has not yet cleared committee hearings or a floor vote, and its progress will depend on the legislative calendar and the balance of power in Congress. What it does certify is a significant underlying political shift: for the first time, several legislators are attempting to turn the recent push toward research and the eventual regulated use of ibogaine into lasting law, rather than just an executive order reversible by any future Administration. Ibogaine is a substance that is part of the Bwiti ritual tradition in Gabon and has been researched in the Americas primarily for its interest in treating opioid addictions. As always in this field, years, committees, and a Drug Enforcement Administration that has historically been reluctant to move psychedelic substances out of Schedule I stand between the announcement of a law and its actual implementation.
Source
- Marijuana Moment. Bipartisan Congressional Bill Would Codify Trump’s Psychedelics Order Into Law. Marijuana Moment, July 1, 2026.
Educational content written from a harm reduction perspective and with respect for individual freedom. It is not a substitute for advice from a healthcare professional and is not intended to encourage or condemn any drug use.
