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Elon Musk Once Said Psychedelics Could Help PTSD — Now FDA Holds Hearing as Optimi Health Advances MDMA Trial

Optimi Health website displaying information about psychedelic drug manufacturing (Credit: Optimi Health website displaying information about psychedelic drug manufacturing | Photo courtesy: Shutterstock)

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Shares of Optimi Health Corp.and other commercial manufacturers of MDMA and psilocybin are in focus, following federal administrative actions, a public hearing on psychedelic medicines, and an old endorsement of these drugs by tech billionaire Elon Musk.

Optimi Health Commercial Operations

Canada-based Optimi operates as a licensed commercial producer of both MDMA and psilocybin. The company manufactures and exports pharmaceutical-grade doses to authorized medical programs.

In January 2025, Optimi Health said that it had increased its 2025 production forecast to supply enough MDMA capsules for over 5,000 patients globally. The company announced on Wednesday that patients in Australia began receiving Optimi-manufactured MDMA capsules in October 2024 under the country's Authorized Prescriber Scheme.

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Globally, Optimi Health said on Wednesday that it has announced plans to launch a Health Canada-authorized Phase 3 clinical trial in 2027 evaluating MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD in up to 100 veterans and frontline workers.

The expansion coincides with growing economic analysis of mental health care costs, with a 2018 study placing the annual economic burden of PTSD in the United States at $232.2 billion, according to the National Institutes of Health. To fund its production capacity, Optimi Health completed a $15 million public offering in May 2026 alongside its listing on the Nasdaq exchange.

FDA Focused on Psychedelics' Medicinal Use After Trump's Order

On Sept. 14, 2026, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) convened a Part 15 public hearing titled "Considerations for Potential Future Therapeutic Use of Psychedelic Drugs."

The hearing comes months after President Donald Trumpsigned Executive Order 14401 in April 2026, directing federal agencies to accelerate research and regulatory pathways for potential psychedelic treatments for serious mental illnesses.

Musk Statements on Psychedelics

The policy shift follows an old 2022 public commentary from Musk stating on Xthat "Psychedelics and MDMA can make a real difference to mental health, especially for extreme depression and PTSD. We should take this seriously."

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In a podcast interview, Musk emphasized that "some of the psychedelics can be pretty helpful for PTSD…and depression," adding that "psychedelics are like way better for treating depression."

Complementing his public support, The Wall Street Journal reported that key figures in Musk's inner circle — including Space Exploration Technologies Corp.directors Antonio Graciasand Steve Jurvetson, alongside Tesla Inc.director Kimbal Musk— have spent millions of dollars on psychedelic research and philanthropic initiatives.

Psychedelics and MDMA can make a real difference to mental health, especially for extreme depression and PTSD. We should take this seriously.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 10, 2022

Photo courtesy: Shutterstock

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