Australia is the first country to let patients with depression or PTSD be prescribed psychedelics

Australia has taken the lead as the first nation to authorize mental health practitioners to prescribe specific psychedelic substances to patients battling depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

As of Saturday, Australian doctors are permitted to prescribe MDMA, colloquially known as ecstasy, for individuals struggling with PTSD. Similarly, Psilocybin, the psychoactive compound found in magic mushrooms, is now an option for those with intractable depression. The Therapeutic Goods Administration has officially included these two substances in the roster of approved medications.

The decision, announced in February but implemented on July 1, has taken Australian scientists by surprise. One researcher noted that the move positions Australia at the cutting edge of investigation in this domain.

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According to Chris Langmead, Deputy Director of the Neuromedicines Discovery Centre at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, there have been scant developments in the treatment of chronic mental health conditions over the past half-century.

The evolving societal acceptance has prompted two US states to legalize these substances: Oregon became the first to sanction the adult use of psilocybin, followed by Colorado’s electorate decriminalizing psilocybin in 2022. In a recent radio interview, President Joe Biden’s youngest sibling shared that the President has demonstrated considerable openness during discussions regarding the potential therapeutic benefits of psychedelics.

In 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted psilocybin the status of a “breakthrough therapy”, a designation intended to accelerate the development and evaluation of drugs for serious conditions. Federal grants have benefitted psychedelic researchers, such as those at Johns Hopkins. The FDA released draft guidelines last month for researchers designing clinical trials to assess psychedelic substances for a range of medical conditions.

However, the American Psychiatric Association remains cautious, as the FDA has not made a definitive judgment on the use of psychedelics in treatment. Medical experts, in the U.S. and beyond, including in Australia, insist that further research is required to determine the drugs’ effectiveness and understand the extent of their risks, which include hallucinations.

Dr. Paul Liknaitzky, Head of Monash University’s Clinical Psychedelic Lab, voiced concerns about the potential drawbacks. He warned of inadequate evidence, premature clinical services, potential flooding of the field by incompetent or ill-equipped clinicians, cost-prohibitive treatment, and minimal or ill-informed formal oversight.

Furthermore, the treatment cost in Australia will be substantial, around $10,000 (approximately $6,600 U.S. dollars) per patient.

Nonetheless, Liknaitzky acknowledges that the chance for Australians to access these substances for particular conditions is unprecedented.

He conveyed his optimism about the advancements in drug policy, saying, “… about the possibility of providing patients with a more suitable and personalized treatment free from the restrictions of clinical trials and stringent protocols.”

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Psychedelics in Mental Health Treatment

More about Psychedelics in Mental Health Treatment

• Psychedelic Drugs as Therapeutic Agents: A Comprehensive Review
• Therapeutic Goods Administration of Australia
• Psychedelic use and mental health in the United States
• Decriminalization of Psilocybin in Colorado
• FDA’s Breakthrough Therapy Designation
• American Psychiatric Association’s stance on psychedelics
• The Neuromedicines Discovery Centre at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Dr. Paul Liknaitzky, head of Monash University’s Clinical Psychedelic Lab