Global Psychedelics: Australia's Prescription Guidelines, New Zealand's Meth Addiction Treatment

Australian Coalition Calls For Psychedelic Rules Review

Following roughly five months since the country’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) officially enabled the prescription of MDMA and psilocybin-assisted therapies for certain mental health conditions, a new coalition of healthcare professionals is urging a regulations’ review.

Led by the Australian Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Practitioners (AMAPP) and composed of doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, paramedics and social workers, the new group defines the applicable rules and guidelines as “overly restrictive” and potentially leading patients to seek psychedelics from “underground sources” bringing about dangerous situations.
Yet with the therapy costing several thousand of dollars, there’s a real demand for it to become more affordable.

The coalition seeks a stakeholders meeting to develop “fairer and more progressive” guidelines and regulations. These include increased flexibility and sharing of treatment roles and responsibilities by psychiatrists and therapists; revising the requirement for a psychiatrist to be physically present at every session and personally providing medication to patients, among others.

AMAPP chair Dr. Anthony Bloch told newsGP that some of the guidelines were “fear- and ignorance-based” and have “actually almost completely prevented this from rolling out in a reasonable way.”
Bloch says the psychological harm is “mitigated fairly easily” by selecting the right patients, having proper preparation and intake assessments and having properly trained therapists.
On the other hand, some general practitioners urge caution and the need for an evidence-based approach toward making psychedelic treatments safe and effective for every patient.

RACGP Specific Interests Psychological Medicine’s chair Dr. Cathy Andronis said it is these conditions that will cause governments to consider subsidizing or providing affordable and/or public services. 

“[As a GP I] talk about the considerable risks as well as the potential, but still uncertain, benefits of treatment. The potential is there but we need to get it right this time,” she added, recalling the experience with medicinal cannabis as “a timely warning of how quickly prescribing and treating can get out of control,” in view of risks of misuse, addiction and poor monitoring.

New Zealand’s First Cultivation License For Indigenous Mushroom

New Zealand’s Ministry of Health granted the first medicinal license for indigenous magic mushrooms this past October, reported Derek Cheng for NZ Herald. 

The country places psilocybin as an illegal Class A substance under the Misuse of Drugs Act, but the Director-General of Health can grant licenses for research or medicinal purposes.

The new cultivation license is earmarked for research into an indigenous psychedelic mushroom, the Psilocybe Weraroa, one of seven varieties endemic to Aotearoa, which could help in the treatment of meth addiction affecting the country.

See Also: Psychedelic Trials Update: Treating Meth Addiction, Fibromyalgia & General Anxiety Disorder

The license holder is Tairāwhiti-based Rua Bioscience, which as stated by Cheng is “a crucial piece of the puzzle" in a collaboration with a long-term goal of helping those affected by meth and other addictions.

Environmental Science and Research (ESR)’s testing services will be used to determine the levels of psilocybin in the fungi and their consistency, toward ensuring accurate dosing in human trials.

The biopharma company would then provide the mushrooms for license-pending clinical trials led by Rangiwaho Marae and with the support of rongoā Māori practitioners, ESR, Auckland and Waikato universities, Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, Mātai Medical Research Institute, an iwi health provider, and other community stakeholders.

Reportedly the first of its kind, Rangiwaho Marae’s psilocybin clinical research project counts with some federal funding, including NZ’s Health Research Council independent grant for $182,600 (NZD$300,000.)

Photo: Benzinga edit with photo by New Africa, GillianVann and Arif Vector on Shutterstock.