Australia legalizes medicinal psychedelics – cannabis | weed | marijuana

With a medicinal cannabis program that stinks of reefer craze and a decision to set up COVID detention centers, Australia is the last country you’d expect to legalize medicinal psychedelics.

But a recent decision by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) will soon make it legal for psychiatrists to prescribe psilocybin and MDMA in July 2023.

That would be like Health Canada coming to their senses and making Canada’s exemption from psychedelic drugs as accessible as the federally sponsored suicide program.

(To say that dying legally in Canada is easier than getting psychedelics or even a hospital bed).

Of course, Australians eligible for these prescriptions must prove their depression or PTSD is ‘treatment resistant’, meaning you have to taste their drug cocktail first.

So it could be better.

What are medicinal psychedelics?

Everyone knows psychedelics for their ability to induce altered states of consciousness. Many people use them to better understand themselves and their place in the world. In this sense, any psychedelic use is medicinal or therapeutic. “Experts” will throw in the word “medical” when doctors and psychiatrists use psychedelics in clinical settings.

Australia’s legal medical psychedelics will consist of MDMA and psilocybin.

MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is a synthetic compound that produces both stimulant and psychedelic effects. Researchers are interested in how certain mental illnesses can be treated, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Researchers believe that MDMA increases the brain’s release of certain neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and dopamine, which can induce euphoria, empathy, and connection with others. This helps people with PTSD or depression process difficult emotions and memories in a therapeutic setting.

Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in certain species of mushrooms. Researchers are also studying it to help treat mental illnesses, including depression and anxiety.

Researchers believe psilocybin works by binding to serotonin receptors in the brain, which can produce a range of effects including altered thinking, emotions, and cognition. Almost everyone who has tried magic mushrooms has reported that the experience has helped them gain new insights and perspectives on their lives, leading to lasting changes in behavior and attitude.

What makes you think… Is the government continuing its costly and ineffective war on drugs out of fear that people will broaden their horizons and challenge their authority?

Who delivers?

The decision makes Australia the first country to legalize medicinal psychedelics in this way. Bureaucrats will list psilocybin and MDMA as Schedule 8 drugs for medical use. However, recreational use remains prohibited.

But where does the supply come from?

There are currently no approved products containing psilocybin or MDMA in Australia. The TGA says the new amendment will “allow authorized psychiatrists to gain access to a specific ‘unapproved’ drug containing these substances and legally supply it to patients under their care for these specific uses.”

But no word on who grows psilocybin mushrooms for the Australian government.

The TGA says, “There may be products containing these substances that can be imported.” But we’ve covered that before with medicinal cannabis. Importing into Australia is incredibly wasteful when you have the means to produce cannabis and shrooms yourself.

Of course, the state prohibits individuals in Australia from supplying or promoting the use of psychedelic medicine, with fines running into the millions. Australia’s decision to legalize medicinal psychedelics is institutional and top-down.