Australians suffering from stress disorders and depression could benefit from psychedelic drug treatment, including synthetic magic mushrooms, at the country's first clinic.
Clarion Clinics will open this week in Abbotsford, Melbourne, after getting approval from the regulatory agency the Therapeutic Goods Administration.
The clinic will provide specialised psychedelic-assisted treatment for people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and treatment-resistant depression.
Clinic co-founder and leading treatment researcher, Paul Liknaitzky, who founded the first psychedelic lab in Australia, said it was an exciting time in the psychedelics space.
"It's been a long road ... we didn't anticipate that we would have the ability to move into community service delivery so quickly, but when TGA down scheduling occurred we realised we had a part to play," Dr Liknaitzky told AAP on Monday.
"We're in a very fortunate and unusual situation because we're able to start this pioneering work that's never been done in a clinical service delivery context globally, but with a team that has actually got substantial runs on the board."
It comes after the regulatory agency's landmark decision in February last year to reschedule MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, and psilocybin, found in magic mushrooms, in Australia.
That decision reclassified MDMA and psilocybin from Schedule 9 (Poisons) to Schedule 8 (Controlled Substances) on a restricted basis.
Since July 2023, psychiatrists have been able to apply to become authorised prescribers for psilocybin and MDMA.
Dr Liknaitzky said all potential clients would need to undergo intensive psychiatric, psychological and medical screening, with the purpose-built clinic having the capacity to help 1000 people a year.
"While some people may think we're using magic mushrooms and ecstasy, what we're using is medical grade, pure, and synthetic forms of psilocybin and MDMA" he said.
"But more importantly, simply consuming those drugs does not a treatment make. We're delivering a form of psychotherapy, augmented by these substances."
A course of treatment involves about nine months of psychotherapy and psychiatry.
This includes two full-day psychedelic-assisted treatments, individual therapy, group therapy, and tailored aftercare.
About 700,000 people in Australia live with PTSD and/or treatment-resistant depression.
"What excites me most is having the opportunity to develop and deliver a far more patient-centric, tailored, and extended model of care than any clinical trial protocol to date," Dr Liknaitzky said.
