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Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Two were martyred in an initial toll of the Israeli drone strike that targeted the al-Asira neighborhood in the city of Baalbek, eastern Lebanon
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: An Israeli drone strike targeted the al-Asira neighborhood east of Baalbek, eastern Lebanon
Sheikh Naim Qassem to the pager attack survivors: You are the greatest resistance. Know that 'Israel' will fall because it embodies aggression, crime, and occupation; victory is truly yours
Sheikh Qassem to the pager attack survivors: The value of what you are doing despite your wounds is immense, and here you are, treading the path of the Master of Nation's Martyrs and the leaders
Sheikh Qassem to the pager attack survivors: You are moving forward with insight deeper than sight itself. The enemy sought to eliminate your role in the battle, yet you remain steadfast and continue the fight
Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem to the pager attack survivors one year later: You are healing from your wounds and rising above them. You have successfully passed the test
Palestinian media: Reports of stabbing operation in occupied al-Quds.
Israeli media: Sirens blare in Arava in South, near Ramon Airport.
Egyptian PM Mostafa Madbouli: Egypt is targeted in plans to redraw regional map
AEOI Chief Mohammad Eslami: Our presence in IAEA General Council and fact-checking helped in preventing unilateral rhetoric that aims to portray Iran as an unregulated country

TGA approves psilocybin, MDMA for treatment-resistant mental illnesses

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: News websites
  • 3 Feb 2023 14:41
2 Min Read

The use of psychedelics to treat certain mental health issues has been approved by Australia's medical regulator.

  • x
  • A psilocybin capsule displayed. (Associated Press)
    A psilocybin capsule (AP)

After decades of "demonization", psychiatrists in Australia will be authorized to prescribe MDMA --the active element in party drugs like "ecstasy" or "molly" -- and psilocybin beginning in July of this year.

On Friday afternoon, the Therapeutic Goods Administration announced the unexpected announcement.

The drugs will only be authorized to be used in a very limited way and remain otherwise prohibited, but the move was defined as a "very welcome step away from what has been decades of demonization" by Dr. David Caldicott, a clinical senior lecturer in emergency medicine at Australian National University.

Ecstasy is popularly known as 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA), whereas psilocybin is a psychedelic often found in so-called magic mushrooms.

Before they were criminalized, both substances were used experimentally and therapeutically for decades.

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Only specially trained doctors will be able to administer MDMA for PTSD and psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression.

Ecstasy was invented in 1912 as an appetite suppressant, but it wasn't until the 1970s that it was utilized in therapy sessions in the United States.

It arrived in Australia as a party drug in the 1980s and was criminalized in 1987.

It is worth noting that many varieties of magic mushrooms grow naturally in Australia, however possessing or supplying psilocybin is banned.

Caldicott detailed that it had become "abundantly clear" that a controlled supply of both MDMA and psilocybin "can have dramatic effects on conditions often considered refractory to contemporary treatment" and that it would benefit returned servicemen and women from the "Australian defense force" in particular.

Meanwhile, cognitive neuropsychologist Prof Susan Rossell, from Swinburne’s Centre for Mental Health, argued that she still had “a significant degree of caution” about the decision and that further research was needed.

Read more: ‘Every year there was a suicide’: Former Australian soldier speaks up

  • mental illnesses
  • psilocybin
  • MDMA
  • PTSD
  • TGA

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