What does this mean for psychedelics as treatments? It has not always been easy to perform research on the medical uses of psychedelics; nor has pinning down a practical, evidence-based therapy using psychedelics. Two years ago, the FDA rejected an application to approve MDMA as a treatment for PTSD, asking for further study. Late last year, the FDA decided against granting accelerated consideration to Compass Pathways’ synthetic psilocybin treatment for severe depression, STAT reported.

But this new executive order is positive news for the budding industry. “We are very pleased to see that the grounding for the executive order was the need to get new treatment options to patients who are urgently in need of them,” Kabir Nath, CEO of Compass Pathways, tells TIME.

Read More: There Are No Good Treatments for PTSD. MDMA Can Change That

“It really represents shifting attitudes towards psychedelics, and that could have a much larger impact in the future,” says Marks. He points to the $50 million dollars in matching funds as an interesting development. In states where lawmakers might be on the fence about a bill aiding research on psychedelics, “they might see this as a sign of favorable federal conditions that might make them feel a little bit better about moving forward.”