Something meaningful came out of the Oval Office.
Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at accelerating research and expanding access to psychedelic-assisted therapies.
The order doesn’t change much overnight. It doesn’t legalize psychedelics.
It doesn’t remove substances like psilocybin, LSD and DMT from Schedule I classification, which has shaped decades of stigma, restriction, and stalled research. (As a reminder, the Controlled Substances Act defines Schedule I substances as having no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.)
But this order does something real: it shifts federal direction. It means that psychedelics are no longer treated as untouchable.
In the best of worlds there will be active research into psychedelics, offering access and support for those suffering from PTSD, depression and addiction. That alone is a meaningful step forward.
AND IT’S PERSONAL
This executive order also touches me – a healthy individual who loves to support others – personally.
I have experience with and benefit from many of these so-called “drugs” that I prefer to call “plant teachers.” In addition to being an executive coach, I’m a psychedelic-assisted coach for women who are not trying to escape or to heal. Rather, they strive to live intentionally, awaken purpose and connect deeply with themselves and others. Working with plant teachers we can reach these goals.
The work I proudly do is in a kind of in-between. Not illegal in the way people might assume and not tightly regulated in the way traditional medicine would prefer. Technically, I’m in a gray zone as defined by authorities.
That’s another reason I think this is good news.
I know that what begins as a policy shift in Washington doesn’t stay there. It slowly reshapes what happens at ground level – what is permitted, what is spoken about openly, and eventually, what people feel fully free to explore for every-day growth. In other words, a new paradigm that I can’t wait for!
But whether I’m operating in the gray or white zone, I will continue to approach my work with responsibility. To create containers that are thoughtful and safe and to support not just the experience – but the life that follows it.
SOME WATCHOUTS
Alongside my optimism, there are real watchouts, only a few of which I will call out here.
When psychedelics move through government systems, there is a risk that these experiences will become overly medicalized — available primarily through clinical pathways that are expensive, slow to access and diagnosis-dependent. [Apropos, check out my blog post: DON’T KILL THE TRIP]
As legitimacy grows, commercial interests will grow and with that the possibility that profit models begin shaping what, how – and who – gets prioritized.
Finally, there’s a risk of losing something precious that is harder to measure – the relational and ancestral ways of working with these medicines. Many of these plant teachers have deep indigenous and tribal roots, held for generations within ceremonial, community-based spiritual traditions. As new systems are built, there is a real question of how much of the original context will be honored and preserved or inadvertently stripped away in translation.
STILL…
None of this negates the importance of this shift. We are in the early stage of palpable change. The door is not fully open. But it is, perhaps, unlocking.
And what we do next – with care, intention, and humility – will shape what walks through.
