Australia became one of the first countries in the world to legalize the use of MDMA and magic mushrooms for medical purposes on Saturday in an effort to treat some mental health conditions.

The medication, also known as ecstasy and psilocybin, can be prescribed by licensed psychiatrists as of July 1 to treat some forms of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

One or both of the drugs may be used for medical purposes in Canada and the US but only in clinical trials or under special licenses.

Australia reclassified the drug entirely in February after the country's Therapeutic Goods Administration said trials had found the substances to be "relatively safe" when used in a "medically-controlled environment".

When other treatments have failed to help patients with mental health issues, the drugs, according to the movement's proponents, may offer breakthroughs.

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A mental health and suicide prevention researcher at the University of South Australia, Mike Musker, told AFP that psilocybin can treat depression while MDMA would be helpful for treating post-traumatic stress. He argued that MDMA "gives people a feeling of connectedness and it makes it easier for people to connect with a therapist and also talks about some bad personal experiences."

Musker added that psilocybin has a "psycho-spiritual effect" that is "unlike anything you would experience from traditional drugs" and that it "might change the way you feel about yourself and your life, hopefully making you want to live." He expressed doubts that the drugs will be in widespread use among patients until 2024 and said the process would not be a case of "take a pill and go away."

For example, MDMA would probably involve three treatments over five to eight weeks, with each session lasting about eight hours. He claimed that during treatments, which could cost around $1,000 Australian dollars (US$660), therapists would remain with patients while they are receiving the drugs.

'No miracle cure'

Australian National University clinical drug researcher and emergency medicine consultant Dr. David Caldicott told AFP that the changes put Australia "very much ahead of the pack" in examining the drugs' therapeutic potential. However, despite the fact that the treatments "have got potential," Australia is "moving ahead five years before it should do," according to Susan Rossell, a cognitive neuropsychologist at Swinburne University.

She told AFP, "When you look at interventions... for any other kind of disease, whether it's cardiovascular disease or cancer, you cannot get a drug to market as quickly as this has been done," adding that "there are no drugs on the market that don't have phase three and phase four clinical trials -- and that is what we're doing here."

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The decision to alter the regulations "acknowledged that evidence for the use of these substances in treating mental illnesses is not yet well established," a Health Department spokesperson told AFP, adding that "the benefits for some patients... will outweigh the risks, and there is currently a lack of options for patients with specific treatment-resistant mental illnesses." However, the patients are being warned not to expect a miracle cure.

Musker said, "I have read about stories where people have had what you call bad trips or actually they've re-experienced their trauma, and so we've got to take great caution," adding, "I think there has to be a warning to the consumer that this is a potential side effect before they take part."