Displaying items by tag: psychedelics

Australia's medicines regulator has approved using psychedelics to treat depression and PTSD. This will allow magic mushrooms and ecstasy tablets to be prescribed as medicines at a national level. Ecstasy was developed in 1912 as an appetite suppressant in the USA, but was outlawed in the 1970s. It entered Australia as an illegal party drug in the 1980s, giving increased energy levels, empathy, and pleasure. How Australia rolls out clinical prescriptions for both drugs will be closely watched. Initial access to the drugs will be limited and costly. Many say it’s a landmark moment, but the Medical Association and the College of Psychiatrists have expressed serious concerns about psychedelic treatments. A professor of addiction medicine at the University of Sydney wants larger-scale studies and better research. He warned of known risks of fear, panic and re-traumatisation; and unknown risks of long-term side effects with potentially very limited benefits.