Earlier this year, researchers raised eyebrows when Australia’s traditionally conservative medicines regulator approved the use of psychedelics to assist therapy sessions.
The decision will see psilocybin, found in magic mushrooms, used for treatment-resistant depression. It will also allow MDMA, known as ecstasy in tablet form, for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The changes come into effect on Saturday, making Australia the first country to classify psychedelics as medicines at a national level.
While initial access to the drugs will be limited and costly, many experts and patients are hailing it as a landmark moment.
But major health organisations have also urged caution.
Marjane Beaugeois was diagnosed with severe depression in 2017. “Within two months, I lost my mother, grandmother, beloved pet dog and my romantic relationship,” she recalls.
She couldn’t eat, shower, or leave her house in Melbourne – but says prescription antidepressants left her “zombie-like, unable to cry, self-soothe or feel better”.
“I’d still go to bed praying not to wake up,” the 49-year-old says.
When her research for alternative therapies led her to a psilocybin clinic in Amsterdam, she was hesitant.
“I have no history of drug or alcohol use. As an addiction counsellor, I was always very against it,” she says.
Hellbound and Down 