Psychiatrists in Australia to soon prescribe MDMA, psilocybin for mental health conditions
International studies looking at the ability to treat mental health conditions have shown promising results. However, experts have called for more research into their long-term effects before making them a mainstream treatment.
FollowAustralia's Therapeutic Good Administration (TGA) has approved the use of psychedelics to treat some mental health conditions, making the country one of the first in the world to "officially recognise MDMA and psilocybin as medicines".
International studies looking at the ability to treat mental health conditions have shown promising results. However, experts have called for more research into their long-term effects before making them a mainstream treatment.
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Authorised psychiatrists, from July 1, will be allowed to prescribe MDMA — the active ingredient in party drugs such as "ecstasy" or "molly" — to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The psychiatrists will also be allowed to prescribe psilocybin, a compound found in "magic" mushrooms, for treatment-resistant depression.
The TGA said the decision addressed the "lack of options" for people with some mental illnesses that did not respond to other treatments.
In its website, the TGA said, "There is a need for access to new therapies for treatment-resistant conditions such as treatment-resistant depression and post-traumatic stress disorder."
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"Psychotherapy involving psilocybin and MDMA has shown to be potentially beneficial in the treatment of these conditions," it said.
According to reports, about one in three people with depression have "treatment-resistant depression", meaning the current stable of gold-standard treatments like SSRIs and psychology do not work.
The TGA stressed that the drugs had only been approved for use under controlled medical settings by authorised psychiatrists. The use of these drugs in other ways will remain prohibited.
