Starting July 1, Australia will allow the legal use of MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, and psilocybin, the hallucinogenic ingredient in "magic mushrooms," to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and treatment-resistant depression, respectively.
Authorized by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Australia's drug regulator, this landmark decision will make the country one of the world's first to recognize psychedelic drugs as legitimate medical treatments, according to news reports. In making the decision, the regulatory body cited "sufficient evidence" that the drugs can be helpful to certain patients with PTSD and depression, although currently, no drugs containing the psychedelics have been fully evaluated for safety and effectiveness and added to the TGA's database of approved drugs.
