Bipartisan Lawmakers Move To Codify Trump Psychedelics Research Order

Legislative Push Targets Permanence Beyond Executive Authority

The bipartisan effort seeks to lock Trump's psychedelics research reforms into statute, preventing reversal by future administrations. Reps. Lou Correa (D-CA) and Jack Bergman (R-MI), co-chairs of the 30-member Congressional Psychedelics Advancing Therapies (PATH) Caucus, both confirmed the effort in recent statements. They said they're working on bill language that would incorporate key provisions from the April 2026 executive order. That order directed FDA, DEA, and NIDA to reduce bureaucratic barriers for Schedule I psychedelic research—primarily psilocybin, MDMA, and LSD. But executive orders can be reversed by subsequent presidents.

Correa said the legislative version would "permanently" enshrine streamlined protocols for clinical trials, researcher registration, and compound access. No bill number or introduction date has been announced. Bergman, a Marine Corps veteran, framed the effort as critical for veterans facing treatment-resistant PTSD.

Trump Order Directed Three-Agency Coordination on Research Barriers

The April executive order tasked FDA, DEA, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse with a 90-day review of Schedule I psychedelic research obstacles. The directive specifically called for:

• Expedited DEA researcher registration for Schedule I psychedelics
• Simplified protocols for investigational new drug (IND) applications at FDA
• Expanded NIDA supply of research-grade psilocybin and MDMA to academic institutions
• Interagency working group to harmonize conflicting regulations across HHS and DOJ

The 90-day window closes in mid-July 2026. DEA hasn't publicly released interim findings, though agency sources told trade press that researcher registration timelines have been cut from 12-18 months to 4-6 months for psilocybin protocols.

Caucus Formation Followed State-Level Psychedelics Momentum

The PATH Caucus launched in March 2024 as Oregon, Colorado, and five cities implemented legal psilocybin access programs. Membership grew to 30 House members by early 2026, split roughly evenly between parties. The caucus doesn't advocate for recreational legalization. Its charter focuses exclusively on FDA-regulated therapeutic pathways and veterans' mental health applications.

Correa has sponsored previous psychedelics research bills, including the 2023 VA Psilocybin Research Act, which passed the House but stalled in Senate committee. Bergman co-sponsored companion legislation directing VA to fund Phase III trials for MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD. Neither bill advanced to law.

Codification Would Shield Reforms From Administrative Reversal

Executive orders remain vulnerable to one-stroke reversal by future presidents, a risk caucus leaders say justifies statutory codification. Trump's psychedelics order mirrors his 2025 Right to Try expansion for terminally ill patients—an executive action later codified by Congress in the 2026 Compassionate Access Act. That legislative model is the template for Correa and Bergman's drafting effort, according to caucus sources.

Statutory codification would prevent a future administration from unwinding streamlined research pathways with a single executive order, locking in regulatory predictability for multi-year clinical trials.

The bill would likely face easier passage than broader psychedelics reform measures. Veterans' groups including IAVA and Wounded Warrior Project have endorsed research-focused legislation, providing bipartisan political cover absent from recreational legalization debates.

Research Community Seeks Clarity on NIDA Supply Expansion

Academic researchers said the executive order's most immediate impact would be expanded NIDA production of research-grade psilocybin and MDMA. NIDA currently supplies Schedule I compounds to fewer than 40 registered researchers annually, creating bottlenecks for university-led trials. The agency's sole contractor, Research Triangle Institute, produces psilocybin in 5-gram batches insufficient for Phase II dose-ranging studies.

Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research told CannIntel in April it had waited 14 months for a 25-gram psilocybin allocation. The executive order directed NIDA to increase production capacity and add a second contractor by Q3 2026. No procurement announcement has been made. For full background on this story, see the CannIntel topic hub on psychedelics research reform.

DEA Rescheduling Petition Remains Separate Track

The codification effort doesn't address pending DEA petitions to reschedule psilocybin from Schedule I to Schedule II or III. Two rescheduling petitions filed in 2024—one by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), another by Usona Institute—remain under DEA review with no timeline for administrative law judge hearings. Rescheduling would reduce research barriers more comprehensively than streamlined protocols under Schedule I, but the process typically takes 3-5 years.

Correa said the legislation wouldn't preempt DEA's rescheduling authority. "We're not touching scheduling. We're codifying the research pathways that exist today under Schedule I, making them predictable and permanent." The distinction matters for FDA's drug approval process, which doesn't require rescheduling before approval but benefits from reduced DEA oversight post-approval.

Timeline and Prospects Remain Unclear

Neither Correa nor Bergman provided a bill introduction date, and no draft text has circulated among stakeholder groups. Congressional observers expect introduction in June 2026. The co-chairs are targeting attachment to the FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) as a veterans' mental health provision. That vehicle successfully carried the 2024 PATH Caucus formation resolution and the 2025 Right to Try expansion.

The legislative effort faces no organized opposition—anti-drug groups have largely exempted FDA-regulated psychedelics research from broader legalization criticism. Success will hinge on whether leadership allows a standalone vote or requires NDAA attachment. Either way, expect state-level programs in Oregon and Colorado to continue operating independently of federal research reforms. This is a clinical-trials bill, not a legalization pathway.

We'll be watching for bill introduction in June and tracking whether the FY2027 NDAA becomes the legislative vehicle for permanent research reforms.