Wellington (AFP) – New Zealand on Wednesday approved the medicinal use of psilocybin, a hallucinogenic compound notably found in so-called “magic mushrooms”.
Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour said rules had been relaxed so psilocybin could be used to treat certain types of depression.
Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in some species of mushroom and can cause hallucinations and an altered state of mind.
“Psilocybin remains an unapproved medicine, but a highly experienced psychiatrist has been granted authority to prescribe it to patients with treatment-resistant depression,” Seymour said.
"This is huge for people with depression who’ve tried everything else and are still suffering.
“If a doctor believes psilocybin can help, they should have the tools to try.”
There will be tight rules for prescribing the drug.
Only psychiatrists who have been involved in psilocybin clinical trials will be allowed to prescribe it, and they must strictly report its use and keep detailed records.
Party drugs such as as MDMA and magic mushrooms are increasingly being used in mainstream medical settings, helping treat post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.
Australia approved the medicinal use of psilocybin in 2023.
It’s a drug with therapeutic uses, they’re simply scheduling it for professional use… within an extremely niche community of psychiatrists.
Better than nothing. Hopefully some good studies get published from this.
Good news but calling psilocybin a party drug like mdma is very irresponsible.
Some people do take these at festivals and parties but for a first timer (even when experienced with lots of party drugs) thats a one way trip to the shadow dimension.
Now approve it for recreational use
It’s not addictive, there’s essentially no overdose possible (I understand that there’s more to it than that)
I love booze, but it does more harm than mushrooms ever could
There’s no overdose. I’ve tried to find it. You just go deeper into yourself.
Yep
That doesn’t go well for some people, but there’s still no comparison with the harm caused by booze
Not so well because people find themselves and dislike what they see. 😬
But it’s free we can’t have commieplants.
I’d pay for shrooms
I want consistent potency and dosing. I was hugely disappointed with the light dose I had the other day, and at other times the same amount (obviously not!) left me drooling
Too much can still make you go absolutely nuts with extremely negative lasting side effects, source: experience. I’ve not been the same since my last couple bad trips, and I don’t think I’d touch those ever again. I’d drop acid again, I’d roll molly again, but boomers can stay the fuck out of my life.
