MDMA, Psilocybin, And Ketamine: 3 Psychedelics With Different Mental Health ‘Use Cases’

Australia, starting July 1, has become the first country to authorize the use of MDMA and psilocybin as treatments for specific mental health conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and treatment-resistant depression. While the decision to allow psychiatrists to prescribe these psychedelic drugs is a bold move, there are concerns among some experts that it may be premature.

“We've got no data on long-term outcomes at all, so that worries me a lot, which is one of the reasons why I'm doing my very large study,” Professor Susan Rossell of Swinburne University explained in an interview. Professor Rossell leads a $5 million-dollar clinical trial testing the potential of psilocybin in the treatment of depression.

It is clear that the scientific community’s perspective on psychedelic drugs is undergoing a significant shift, moving from mere curiosity to a more rigorous exploration of their potential clinical benefits..... more