Australia Becomes First Nation to Name Psychedelics as Medicine

Psychiatrists in Australia will soon be able to prescribe MDMA and psilocybin.

Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration has announced that it will permit the prescription of two psychedelic substances to treat mental illness: MDMA, more commonly known as Ecstasy or Molly, and psilocybin, the psychoactive component of mushrooms. In doing so, Australia has become the first nation worldwide to recognize psychedelics as medicine.

Beginning on July 1, 2023, Australian psychiatrists approved under the TGA’s Authorized Provider Scheme will be able to prescribe MDMA to patients with post-traumatic stress disorder, and psilocybin to those with treatment-resistant depression. Both substances will be classified as Schedule 8 (controlled drugs) medicines in the Poisons Standard, while remaining Schedule 9 (prohibited substances) for all other uses.

Australia will soon dispense psilocybin from mushrooms as medicine.
Credit: Marek Piwnicki

More Clarity Needed to Administer Psychedelics as Medicine

Stephen Bright, director of a charity called Psychedelic Research in Science and Medicine, told The Sydney Morning Herald that the decision was “unexpected given that Australia is such a conservative country,” and that providers are waiting for further clarification. “There are no products available, and aside from myself and a handful of colleagues, there’s no-one trained to provide the treatment. We’re waiting for a bit more information, to get an idea of what this looks like in practice,” he said.

Petra Skeffington, an associate professor in clinical psychology at Murdoch University, told The Guardian that the training would have to be adequate to dispense psychedelics as medicine. “With the potential for increased access to MDMA and psilocybin-assisted therapies, it is now critically important that high-quality therapist training be made available to promote safe therapeutic conditions when working with these medications,” she said.

A German pharmaceutical company developed MDMA in the early 1900s in an effort to synthesize medications that control bleeding. Some psychiatrists found MDMA useful in therapy, but after it gained widespread popularity as a recreational drug, the U.S. Drug and Enforcement Agency placed an emergency ban on the substance, labeling it a Schedule I drug. Recently, researchers have been exploring the potential of MDMA to address PTSD.

Meanwhile, psilocybin — long used for spiritual and recreational purposes — has recently received greater attention, study, and funding for its potential therapeutic benefits. Researchers and advocates have suggested the psychedelic can address everything from depression to grief. In Canada, psilocybin can be legally administered to address anxiety around end-of-life.

The Australian TGA’s landmark decision to reclassify MDMA and psilocybin was based on public consultation and report from an expert panel, among other input.