Australia allows magic mushrooms and MDMA for limited medical purposes

Australia surprised the world yesterday by announcing that it will allow the prescription of psilocybin and MDMA to treat certain health conditions from July 1st this year.

The announcement marks a first for the medical use of MDMA in any country. As for psilocybin, the substance is available to adults 21 and older in the state of Oregon and will soon be available in Colorado. In Canada it is available for limited medical use.

Australia’s new law only allows certain uses: psilocybin to help with treatment-resistant depression and MDMA to treat PTSD, for which research has shown promise.

The substances must be administered in conjunction with psychotherapy – a process also supported by research – likely similar to Oregon’s system of psilocybin administration and integration. Only psychiatrists licensed by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) can prescribe the substances.

This change in the legality of the substances came about through an amendment to Australia’s poisons standards. Medical uses of psilocybin and MDMA are now listed as Schedule 8 or Controlled Drugs, while other uses of the substances continue to be labeled under Schedule 9 or Prohibited Substances.

Toxic standards are regulated at the state or territory level. While this change will be nationwide, individual states or territories in Australia can opt out of the decision if they wish, much like when legalizing cannabis in a US state, individual counties can refrain from selling cannabis.

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What are Psychedelic Mushrooms and Psilocybin?

Although the Australian government is pushing the decision, researchers in Australia are divided on the decision.

“This is a major step for the treatment of PTSD and treatment-resistant depression in Australia and provides access to alternative interventions for individuals who have exhausted all treatment options,” Sarah-Catherine Rodan, PhD student at the Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics, told InsideOut Eating Disorders Institute, University of Sydney.

However, many researchers working on psychedelic therapies have expressed caution about this decision.

“There is early evidence that MDMA may be beneficial in the treatment of PTSD, but there is a lot we don’t know,” said Professor Richard Bryant of the School of Psychology University of New South Wales. “Science is at a point where we can say it’s too early to prescribe MDMA for PTSD patients. Instead, we should invest in research to understand how MDMA can be used in relation to proven treatments.”

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What is MDMA (aka Ecstasy or Molly)?

Perhaps more importantly, the legalization of substances around the world is destigmatizing drug use in general, a welcome step in combating the war on drugs and creating a new narrative of substances.

“MDMA was used as a drug in 1985 when it was banned by order of the President of the United States and against the advice of medical and administrative authorities,” said Dr. David Caldicott, Emergency Counselor and Senior Clinical Lecturer in Medicine at the Australian National University.

“The safe ‘remedialization’ of certain historically illicit drugs is a very welcome step away from decades of demonization. In addition to a clear and developing therapeutic benefit, it also offers a chance to make up for decades of missed opportunity to delve into the inner workings of the human mind, so long abandoned as part of an ill-conceived, ideological ‘war on drugs’. “

Pat Goggins

Pat Goggins is a senior content editor at Leafly, specializing in cannabis cultivation after working for a commercial grower in Oregon. When you’re not correcting typos, chances are you’ll find him on a boat or in the mountains.

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