Australia to legalise use of MDMA and magic mushrooms for treating depression

The drug watchdog of Australia on Friday announced that the authorities will be soon legalising psychedelic substances MDMA and psilocybin, which are commonly known as magic mushrooms and ecstasy, for treating patients who are suffering from depression and post-traumatic stress.

From July, psychiatrists will be free to prescribe both substances, said the Therapeutic Goods Administration after it found "sufficient evidence for potential benefits in certain patients".

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Both drugs are currently "prohibited substances" and authorities can only use them in closely controlled clinical trials.

The administration said that the drugs were found to be "relatively safe" when they were administered in a medical setting and provided an "altered state of consciousness" which seemed to help the patients.

University of South Australia's mental health and suicide prevention researcher Mike Musker welcomed the move as "long-awaited".

"There are many people in the community experiencing PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and depression, particularly army veterans and people who have worked in emergency services, where standard psychiatric drugs have not worked and offer no relief," he stated.

Musker added that both drugs "reduce inhibitions" and will help people process difficult memories and images.

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Presently, the use of psilocybin and MDMA will remain limited to the treatment of patients suffering from depression and post-traumatic stress.

However, the advocates hope that the drugs will be one day used for treating eating disorders, alcohol dependence and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Indigenous peoplehave used psychedelics for millennia, however, western researchers started understanding the potential uses of these drugs in the middle of the last century.

The drugs were seen as symbols of the 1960s' counter-culture movement and were banned.

Authorities in the United States and Canada are among those who have permitted for the medical use of MDMA and psilocybin.

(With inputs from agencies)

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