Australia is the first nation in the world to legalize the use of psychedelics to treat certain mental health disorders.
Licenced psychiatrists can prescribe MDMA for post-traumatic stress disorder and magic mushrooms for depression.
Numerous scientists and mental health professionals lauded the controversial action as a game-changer.
Others, however, argue that the decision was made too quickly and should not be overemphasized.
Experts say a “bad trip” while high is still possible.
According to Australian media, a single course of treatment could cost tens of thousands of dollars.
MDMA, also known as the party drug ecstasy, is a synthetic hallucinogen also known as ecstasy. It enhances the user’s vitality levels, sensory experiences, and time perception.
The active ingredient psilocybin in naturally occurring magic mushrooms has hallucinogenic properties.
Clinical trials are underway in Australia, the US, Canada, and Israel.
According to the new regulations that went into effect in Australia on 1 July, approved psychiatrists may prescribe MDMA for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psilocybin for resistant depression.
Dr. Mike Musker, a mental health researcher at the University of South Australia, stated that the use of psychedelics would be strictly regulated and not a case of “take a pill and go away.
He told AFP that MDMA patients typically receive three treatments over five to eight weeks. Each treatment would last approximately eight hours, with the therapist present throughout.
However, patients should not expect a miracle cure.
Dr. Musker stated, “I have read accounts of people having what you call bad trips, or reliving their trauma. So we must proceed with extreme caution.”
Professor Susan Rossell, a cognitive neuropsychologist at Swinburne University in Melbourne, stated that although psychedelics had the potential for therapeutic use, the decision had been made too quickly.
“When you look at interventions… for any other kind of disease, whether it’s cardiovascular disease or cancer. You cannot get a drug to market as quickly as this has been done,” she told AFP.
Prof. Rossell, who is leading Australia’s largest trial on the effects of psilocybin on depression, stated that more research was required to ascertain the therapy’s long-term efficacy.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) of Australia stunned many in the medical and scientific communities in February by reclassifying MDMA and psilocybin for therapeutic use.
It declared the drugs to be “relatively safe” when administered in a “medically controlled environment” to patients with “severe mental health conditions.” Otherwise, MDMA and psilocybin are both prohibited in Australia.
The TGA acknowledges that there are unknowns and inconclusive evidence, but asserts that “there are promising signs” that controlled therapeutic use of the drugs may help mental health for some individuals and that “the benefits for some patients will outweigh the risks.”
The regulatory agency reports that there are presently no approved MDMA or psilocybin products. However, the reclassification will allow psychiatrists to access and legally distribute certain medications containing them. Even if they have not been evaluated for safety or efficacy.
