A new measure will allow authorised psychiatrists to access and legally supply specified ‘unapproved’ medicines containing the substances to patients in their care
Psychiatrists working in Australia will soon be able prescribe psilocybin and MDMA to patients, following a surprise announcement from the country’s Therapeutic Goods Administration earlier this week.
From July, psychiatrists can prescribe 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (otherwise known as MDMA) to people experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder and prescribe psilocybin to people who are experiencing depression that is resistant to treatment.
“For these specific uses, psilocybin and MDMA will be listed as Schedule 8 (Controlled Drugs) medicines in the Poisons Standard,” the Therapeutic Goods Administration stated.
“For all other uses, they will remain in Schedule 9 (Prohibited Substances) which largely restricts their supply to clinical trials.”
In 2006, then-Minister for Health Mary Harney outlawed psilocybin in Ireland
Both drugs have been shown in clinical trials to have medicinal benefits. Earlier this month, pharmaceutical company MAPS Public Benefit Corporation announced that its Phase 3 study of MDMA-assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder had gleaned ‘positive results’.
Australia, however, is yet to recommend either drug for quality, safety, and efficacy. New measures will instead allow authorised psychiatrists to access and legally supply specified ‘unapproved’ medicines containing the substances to patients under their care.
Psilocybin, found in so-called ‘magic mushrooms’ was legal in Ireland until 2006, when then-Minister for Health Mary Harney banned the drug following the death of a young man who died after jumping from a balcony while hallucinating.
In March 2015, a legislative loophole resulted in MDMA, ecstasy, ketamine and other drugs being accidentally legalised for 24-hours in Ireland.
In Australia, MDMA was previously used as a party drug, but authorities outlawed it in 1987. Psilocybin grows naturally in the country but is illegal to possess.
