Australia makes history by becoming the first country to approve MDMA & Psilocybin for medical use

In Australia, MDMA and the active element in magic mushrooms, psilocybin, have been given the go-ahead for medical use, thus making it the first country in the world to do so.

This past Friday (February 3), the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) declared that from July 1 onwards, psychiatrists with authorisation would be able to dispense MDMA for treating post-traumatic stress disorder and psilocybin for treating depression, according to Wired.

There is an ever-expanding agreement among scientists globally that psychoactive drugs may be able to provide relief for specific medical issues.

However, only some have been supportive of this announcement, with some cautioning that there needs to be more evidence to establish a safe and efficient way to use these treatments.

The TGA has yet to provide full details regarding the requirements for psychiatrists to become approved to prescribe and the minimum training necessary. It is still being determined what this would look like in action.

Simon Ruffell, a psychiatrist and a senior research fellow at the Psychae Institute of the University of Melbourne, expressed his surprise to Wired when he found out about the news: “When I opened my email, I was shocked to see all the messages about the decision that had been made.”

He pointed out that it is often necessary to engage in lengthy training to become proficient in using psychedelic substances for therapeutic purposes, which is common in indigenous practices worldwide. He further stated: “It would be a grave mistake to assume that the credentials obtained from psychiatry and psychology are adequate to work with psychedelic drugs without additional specialised training.”

[Source: Mixmag]