Matt Zorn, the Government’s Former Adversary, Is Now Its Psychedelics Czar

Matt Zorn, a cannabis and psychedelics-focused attorney known for suing federal agencies, has joined the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as Deputy General Counsel in the Office of the General Counsel. The article frames his appointment as an unprecedented role sometimes described as a “psychedelics czar” during the second Trump administration. It highlights Zorn’s earlier legal efforts against drug scheduling and for expanded access, including challenges involving research permissions, tryptamines scheduling, and psilocybin access under Right to Try laws. It also places the role in context by discussing how HHS-OGC leadership and influence have been reorganized and consolidated, suggesting Zorn could affect federal health policy and psychedelics-related legal decisions from within the government.