The American President had another busy weekend. No surprise there, as yesterday he announced that an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that attempted to bypass the U.S. naval blockade in the Persian Gulf. He said, “The U.S. Navy Guided Missile Destroyer USS SPRUANCE intercepted the merchant ship TOUSKA in the Gulf of Oman, and gave them fair warning to stop.” It didn’t.

SPRUANCE then put a five-inch naval rifle round into the engine room and it did.

That abrupt news was in keeping with the frost warning here in Virginia for tomorrow. Tuesday will plunge to freezing after breaking the 90-degree weather that made Spring seem it was really here. The chill will last to Wednesday when one of the Gulf cease-fires runs out.

It thus promises to be a busy week, and that realization did not get back to Saturday morning. Maybe you missed it yesterday morning. We almost did, too, since the words were unfamiliar. The thing itself is an EO—an Executive Order titled “ACCELERATING MEDICAL TREATMENTS FOR SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS.” It got the attention of the Watch section, possibly for internal use, and they called for the Galley crowd and drive-by morning diners to see what was going on.

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The flat screen on the north wall of the Conference Room sometimes seems to be frozen with a brightly colored image of the President doing something at the desk in the Oval Office, and this blast looked like a late afternoon gathering with Cabinet members around him. Luke-warm Flat Yank coffee was still in the field service jug and there was a single bagel left on the tray in the middle of the long table.

The folks from Watch Section Bravo reported the EO was calling for the acceleration of research on certain psychedelic drugs as treatments for depression and other conditions. The messaging around it attempts to address the mental health crisis being played out across the nation in homeless encampments, on subway platforms, and seated in suburban living rooms. The Veteran community is particularly hard hit, with suicides from acute PTSD. Recent Veteran Affairs reporting has deaths in the community up nearly a quarter from previous years.

Many things need to be done, and the Watch reported it was OK with them before they took off to walk over to Whole Foods for some goodies over which our Galley Boss Dierdre did not have full authority.

Splash did a square search on the networks to see what people were saying as conversations at the table wandered across war and scandal and gas prices. The Executive Order was a source of mirth, due to the fact that some actual psychedelic drugs had just been approved for research.

“They say Ibogaine is not to be used for recreational purposes due to its long, intense, and often challenging psychological effects. You can see why some people would love it.”

You can see why the matter appealed to the spectrum of interests at both ends of the Conference Table. To the Booms, Zooms, and Tweens. The Boomers were all familiar with psychedelics, and about half had tried some of the variety of substances that had floated around campus fifty years ago. Tweens were interested for some valid medical potential that could be utilized to ease people off the fentanyl-based hard-core drugs.

President Donald Trump did some showing off in the ceremony with Health Secretary RFK Junior and Podcaster Joe Rogan right behind. The story went that Joe had been tuned into the possibilities of Ibogaine and sent a note to the White House, which the President quickly directed to be placed in motion.

Like the action of USS SPRUANCE, it was done nearly that quickly. We will have some more on that tomorrow!

Copyright 2026 Vic Socotra

www.vicsocotra.com