Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists

• This means that under certain circumstances from July 1, authorised psychiatrists will be able to prescribe MDMA to treat post-traumatic stress disorder and psilocybin to treat depression that has not responded to other treatments.
• Read more:
  Explainer: what is post-traumatic stress disorder?

Beware the hype

• There are a small number of countries where psychedelic-assisted therapies are used outside clinical trials – in a very limited manner.
• But for researchers, there are concerns the hype is getting way ahead of the research.

The first steps

• As researchers in this field, we helped develop these guidelines.
• The guidelines also stress the importance of patient safety and appropriate training for prescribers, and advocates for continued research.

What does this mean for patients?

This has several implications for potential patients:


Read more:
Psychedelics: how they act on the brain to relieve depression

Expectations are high, but clear evidence is lacking

• Patient expectations remain high but good clear evidence is still lacking.
• Australian research is just getting under way and so far most psychedelic research has been done overseas.
• Read more:
  The tricky economics of subsidising psychedelics for mental health therapy

There’s potential for harm

• There is potential for psychedelic substances to cause fear, panic or cause psychological damage if given to susceptible and vulnerable people who have been inadequately screened or assessed.
• Paranoia, traumatisation, worsening depression, and even suicidal behaviour, among other serious side-effects, have been observed in some cases.

An exciting prospect

• Despite the potential harms, we remain excited at the prospect of psychedelic-assisted therapy becoming an established treatment to help a select group of patients.
• If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
• He is an unpaid Chair of an Advisory Board of Psychae, an Australian not-for-profit institute specialising in psychedelic medicines research.

• Incannex owned subsidiary is being led by long time Incannex director, Mr Peter Widdows.
• (ASX: IHL) (‘Incannex’ or ‘the Company’) a pharmaceutical company developing proprietary medicinal cannabinoid products and psychedelic assisted psychotherapies for unmet needs is pleased to announce that it has developed plans for the commercialisation of its psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy business (‘Psychedelic Clinics’).
• Peter Widdows, Incannex Director and psychedelic clinics business lead said: “We initially intended to use only ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, with the possibility of expanding into psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for Generalised Anxiety Disorder subject to regulatory approval.
• I’m grateful to Incannex for providing the resources to do this work and trusting us to build the clinics of the future.