President Trump, Joe Rogan & RFK Jr unveil new psychedelic research measure

Who?Joe Rogan — Oval Office, White HouseKey Rogan:“We have a gigantic opiate problem in this country, obviously. In 2024, more than 80,000 people died of overdoses. It’s a horrible number. And there’s more than 5 million people that are addicted to opiates right now in this country,” Rogan said at the White House. “With one dose of ibogaine, more than 80% of people are free of that addiction. With two doses, it’s more than 90%.”Caught our ear:“These drugs are illegal not because they’re harmful — they’re illegal because of the 1970 Controlled Substances Act that was passed by the Richard Nixon administration,” Rogan tells us. “They did it to target the civil rights movement and the anti-war movement. It’s not because these drugs harm people.”Below find a rough transcript of Joe Rogan’s statement at the Oval Office, slightly edited for clarity.What should we ask federal policymakers next?TRANSCRIPT: Joe Rogan at the White House (4-18-2026)SCENE: On Saturday, Joe Rogan joined President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. in the Oval Office to unveil the new, Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness Executive Order, which encourages research into federally-illegal psychedelics.Joe Rogan: “I’ll tell everybody how this happened. I sent President Trump some information. We have a gigantic opiate problem in this country, obviously. In 2024, more than 80,000 people died of overdoses. It’s a horrible number. And there’s more than 5 million people that are addicted to opiates right now in this country.Rogan cont’d: “With one dose of ibogaine, more than 80% of people are free of that addiction. With two doses, it’s more than 90%. I sent him that information. The text message that came back: ‘Sounds great. Do you want FDA approval? Let’s do it.’ Literally that quick.Rogan cont’d: “These drugs are illegal not because they’re harmful — they’re illegal because of the 1970 Controlled Substances Act that was passed by the Richard Nixon administration. They did it to target the civil rights movement and the anti-war movement. It’s not because these drugs harm people.”About Ask a Pol: We give listeners a front row seat to Congress. Transparency matters, so come inside the Capitol with us! Politicians disappoint. Ask a Pol keeps em honest. Find us on social media:SubstackXSpotifyAppleDon’t miss our other Ask a Pol sites! Ask a Pol politics.Ask a Pol crypto. Ask a Pol drugs. Ask a Pol ai. Ask a Pol uaps. Find Ask a Pol founder @MattLaslo on social media.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.askapolpolitics.com/subscribe