Australia, Mdma and psilocybin can be used to heal

Furthermore, the TGA has not yet provided precise information on minimum training standards for psychiatrists who want to prescribe drugs containing MDMA and psilocybin. This aspect creates ambiguity about the ways in which the therapies will be dispensed, considering that the scientific evidence supporting the validity of these medicines indicates the need to integrate them with a therapy developed by professionals qualified. For this reason – and also considering that for the TGA the burden of demonstrating the adequacy of prescribing practices falls on the psychiatrist – according to Rhys Cohen it will probably be necessary to link therapy to drugs. Cohen sits on the advisory board of the Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics at the University of Sydney and is a consultant in the field of medical cannabis.

Obstacles and doubts

However, not all psychiatrists or psychotherapists are able to administer this type of therapy safely. Ruffell points out that in the psychedelic therapies adopted all over the world, the pros come on five to ten years of training to be able to work with this type of substance. “I think it would be a grave mistake to think that psychiatric and psychological qualifications are transferable to psychedelics without additional trainingRuffell notes.

Another barrier to accessing these drugs will likely be the cost. Treatments will not be covered by health insurance; “So probably, at least initially, we’re talking about a therapy reserved for relatively wealthy patients”Perkins says. Some fear that the Australian TGA has been too hasty and has not given sufficient thought to the security and on long-term effects of these therapies: “We haven’t looked at long-term data yet – confirms Ruffell -; the data available to us cover a maximum period of twelve months. We really don’t know what to expect further on”. On the other hand though”the benefits, particularly for the treatment-resistant conditions we are talking about – post-traumatic stress disorder and depression – could be truly enormous“, points out Perkins.

In general, the amazement following the news has to do with the fact that Australia is the first to start with this type of project. In early 2023, theOregon became the first U.S. state to allow psilocybin for adults”supervised by a state-certified mediator”, although for now in the United States the substance remains an unapproved experimental drug. AND expected that the Food and Drug Administration, the US government body that regulates food products and drugs, approves MDMA in 2024 for the treatment of post-traumatic stress. There Swiss allows already a limited number of psychiatrists to use LSD and MDMA as an aid to psychotherapy.

Most likely the development of the Australian iIt will affect the possible adoption of substances for therapeutic purposes by others villages in the future, whatever the developments. Ruffell admits the optimist in him is thrilled that psychedelic therapy is finally making headway. The more pessimistic side of him instead fears a negative outcome: “I hope that doesn’t happen. We’ll only find out in the future.”he comments.

This article originally appeared on Wired UK.