Narcotic Drug MDMA, magic mushroom Receive Approval for Medical Use in Australia

New Delhi, 1st July 2023: Australia has become the first country to permit the medical use of MDMA and magic mushrooms for the treatment of specific mental health problems. These substances, which also go by the names ecstasy and psilocybin, will be available by prescription starting on July 1.

According to a press statement from Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration, these medications will be used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder and other forms of depression starting on Saturday.

Other than Australia, Canada and the United States allow for limited usage of the medications. Only in clinical trials have the two countries approved the medicinal use of one or both of the medications. According to AFP, medical use is only permitted with certain permissions.

In February of this year, Australia entirely reclassified the medicines. The decision was made after controlled studies of the medicine by the country’s Therapeutic Goods Administration yielded positive findings. The government determined that the substances were “relatively safe” when administered in a “medically-controlled environment”.

Experts who support the move to administer these pharmaceuticals hope that they will deliver breakthroughs for patients suffering from mental illnesses when other treatments have failed.

According to Mike Musker, a mental health and suicide prevention researcher, MDMA might be good in the therapy of post-traumatic stress disorder whereas psilocybin can help in the treatment of depression.

Mike says that MDMA intake allows people to communicate more effectively about their personal experiences with physicians. He said, “MDMA gives people a feeling of connectedness and it makes it easier for people to connect with a therapist and also talk about some bad personal experiences.”

Explaining the use of psilocybin he said, “Psilocybin gives psycho-spiritual effect, which you wouldn’t get on traditional drugs, which might make you feel differently about yourself, and your life… and hopefully, it will make you want to live.”

The prescription for MDMA would most likely include three sessions spread out over five to eight weeks, with each session lasting roughly eight hours.

Mike also stated that therapists must remain with patients while they are receiving medicines during sessions. The treatment will cost around Aus$1,000 (US$660) per person in the region. The approval of these treatments can be very beneficial in the treatment of mental illnesses, but patients should not expect a miracle cure.