Far-Right Trump Ally Takes Aim At New Psychedelics-Focused Hire At Federal Health Agency

A right-wing activist with apparent influence over the Trump administration has taken aim at a new hire at a top federal health agency, making inflated claims about an attorney with a history of marijuana and drug policy reform advocacy who is taking on a new role with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) where he’s expected to work to advance psychedelics issues.

Laura Loomer, a self-described investigative journalist who has stirred controversy over a wide range of issues, spread misinformation in an X post on Saturday about the hiring of Matthew Zorn to serve as deputy general counsel at HHS under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The news of Zorn’s employment at HHS, which Marijuana Moment first reported on Friday, caught attention in part because he’s earned a reputation of litigating against the very agency he’s now joining, with a portfolio of clients pursuing psychedelics and cannabis reform.

In addition to HHS, Zorn has also pursued cases against the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) over drug policy issues such as cannabis rescheduling. And last year, he successfully compelled HHS to release its scientific review and policy recommendation to DEA on rescheduling cannabis, for example.

Loomer claimed in her social media post that Zorn was “telling drug websites dedicated to mainstreaming psychedelics that he is President Trump’s ‘psychedelic czar.’” She also said it “appears to have been leaked to the press by Zorn without authorization,” and accused him of inventing the “fake title” of “psychedelic czar.”

While sources told Marijuana Moment that Zorn was internally known by the title among certain staff at HHS, he has not personally described himself as such in prior interviews, nor did he reach out with details about his job transition that was made public by HHS in  its publicly accessible online staff directory.

Despite those inaccuracies, Loomer’s amplification of the hiring has raised some concern within the drug policy reform community, as her opinions about administration officials have evidently influenced some employment decisions. The New York Times reported last month that, after Loomer attended a White House meeting where she identified several National Security Council (NSC) official she alleged were disloyal to President Donald Trump, six were fired.

“Highly doubt the admin would approve of Zorn calling himself ‘Psychedelics Czar,’” Loomer said. “Zorn is listed in the public Health and Human Services Directory as ‘Deputy General Counsel.’ I guess he will get along with our new shroom eating Surgeon General who isn’t even a licensed doctor.”

That latter point was a reference to the fact that Casey Means, Trump’s pick for the next U.S. surgeon general, is a proponent of psychedelic medicine—and she’s been public about her own experience benefiting from psilocybin.

Whether Loomer’s critique of Zorn will have implications on HHS policy or personnel is yet to be seen, but given her track record, there are some jitters among advocates and stakeholders who worry she could derail what they consider an example of momentum within the Trump administration amid growing calls for psychedelics reform, including from other top officials such as the secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Zorn will be assuming a critical role—and sources did say he was recruited with the intent to have him spearhead the agency’s psychedelics policy work. Kennedy has personally advocated for ambitious reforms around plant medicine, including at one point as a Democratic presidential candidate calling for legalization of psychedelic therapy.

Among other relevant cases, Zorn has represented a Washington State doctor seeking to legally use psilocybin to treat cancer patients in end-of-life care. In February, a federal appellate court sided with DEA in the case, rejecting the plaintiffs’ latest arguments.

He’s also been a central figure in the push to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), representing a coalition of doctors that sought to suspend administrative hearings on the currently stalled process that was initiated under the Biden administration.

Meanwhile, the head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under HHS said recently that exploring the therapeutic potential of psychedelics such as psilocybin and ibogaine is a “top priority” for the Trump administration, especially when it comes to helping military veterans grapple with trauma from being sent to fight “unnecessary wars.”

Under the Biden administration, there was stepped-up interest in examining certain psychedelics, with novel guidance for researchers from FDA in the pursuit of potential approvals, but the agency ultimately rejected an application to make MDMA-assisted therapy available for the treatment of PTSD.

Also, earlier this month, VA Secretary Doug Collins touted the fact that he’s “one of the first” secretaries of the agency with a commitment to exploring psychedelics as a potential therapy option for veterans.

“What we’re seeing so far in some of the studies that are related to VA, and also outside of VA as well,” he told lawmakers during a House committee hearing, “is that there has been—especially when it comes to PTSD and also traumatic brain injury and others—we’re seeing some actual positive outcomes there, especially when it is coupled with intense counseling. And I think that’s the one of the keys that we look forward to.”

Collins also recently met with a military veteran who’s become an advocate for psilocybin access to discuss the therapeutic potential of psychedelic medicine for the veteran community.

Earlier this month, the secretary separately informed Trump during a Cabinet meeting that his agency is “opening up the possibility of psychedelic treatment” for veterans.

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Collins disclosed last month that he had an “eye-opening” talk with Kennedy about the medical potential of psychedelic medicine. And Collins said he’s open to the idea of having the government provide vouchers to cover the costs of psychedelic therapy for veterans who receive services outside of VA as Congress considers pathways for access.

Kennedy himself said during his presidential campaign that he would legalize marijuana and psychedelics if elected to the White House—and he’d tax both substances, using revenue to create “healing centers” where people recovering from drug addiction could learn organic farming as a therapeutic tool. He also voiced support for freeing up banking services for the cannabis industry.

During the town hall event, the then-candidate talked about his own struggles with addiction during his youth and the lessons that he’s taken away from his decades in recovery. While he said he’s generally not one to recommend a drug to treat substance misuse, he’s seen in his own family how psychedelics can facilitate the type of psychological healing needed for long-term recovery.

“I would legalize psychedelic drugs—some form of legalization,” he said, adding that he doesn’t necessarily envision a commercial market where anyone could visit a shop to buy substances like psilocybin, LSD and MDMA, but that there should be regulated access.

“I’m going to decriminalize marijuana on a federal basis, allow the states to regulate it, continue to tax it federally and use those taxes to fund the recovery programs,” he said. “And I would do the same thing for psychedelic drugs, which I do not think should be criminalized.”

In 2023, Kennedy said that he was moved to embrace the therapeutic potential of psychedelics by his son’s experience with ayahuasca.

“My inclination would be to make them available, at least in therapeutic settings and maybe more generally, but in ways that would discourage the corporate control and exploitation of it,” he said.

The candidate added that he also knows a Navy SEAL veterans and NFL players who have gone through psychedelic experiences that have helped them deal with conditions such as PTSD and traumatic brain injuries.

Last month Kennedy spoke about a “wonderful experience” he had taking LSD as a teenager and trying to see dinosaurs.

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