Joe Rogan truly had President Donald Trump’s back on Saturday.
The world’s No. 1 bro-caster, who has expressed some buyer’s remorse over his endorsement of Trump, stood directly behind the president, who was seated at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office signing an executive order to ease restrictions on medical research and treatments using psychedelic drugs.
And it happened because of Rogan, Trump said.
“I got a call from a number of people, including the great Joe Rogan, and he said, ‘We have to do something about this,’” Trump said. “And I looked into it.”
The executive order directs the Food and Drug Administration to support clinical trials for psychedelics and speed up the process to approve drugs deemed to be safe and effective, including ibogaine, psilocybin, MDMA and LSD, all of which are illegal in the United States.
Flanked by Rogan, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya and others, Trump said experimental treatments with psychedelics “have shown life-changing potential for those suffering from severe mental illness and depression,” including veterans.
“If these turn out to be as good as people are saying, it’s going to have a tremendous impact,” Trump said.
Rogan told reporters he learned about the medical benefits of psychedelics from an interview on his podcast with W. Bryan Hubbard, the CEO of the nonprofit Americans for Ibogaine — who stood next to Rogan in the Oval Office — and former Energy Secretary Rick Perry.
Recommended
“They told me how impactful this medicine is this and having that conversation with them, millions of people got a chance to hear their story, hear the stories of all the different people that have had life changing experiences from it,” Rogan said.
The use of ibogaine, a psychoactive compound derived from a native African plant, has gained popularity among military veterans who have participated in clinician-guided psychedelic treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety.
Although Rogan has criticized Trump on issues like immigration enforcement, the Epstein files and the Iran war in recent months, the two men appeared friendly at the signing on Saturday, with Trump calling the podcaster a “fantastic person.”
The president also joked about getting ibogaine for himself as he pointed to a study that found that people who took the drug experienced a massive reduction in symptoms of depression and anxiety within a month.
“Can I have some, please? I’ll take some,” he said. “I don’t have time to be depressed. You know, you stay busy enough, maybe that works too. That’s what I do.”
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.