New Zealand approves use of ‘magic mushrooms’ to treat depression but only one psychiatrist is allowed to prescribe it
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Another country approves use of ‘magic mushrooms’ to treat depression
- New Zealand has approved the restricted medicinal use of psilocybin, a hallucinogen found in "magic mushrooms."
- The approval is specifically for patients diagnosed with treatment-resistant depression.
- Only one psychiatrist, Professor Cameron Lacey, who was behind the first clinical trials of psilocybin, is authorised to prescribe it under strict reporting and record-keeping requirements.
- Associate Minister of Health David Seymour hailed the policy change as a "real breakthrough" for individuals who have exhausted other treatment options.
- New Zealand joins other regions, including Australia, Switzerland, Oregon, and Colorado, in allowing some form of legal or restricted access to psilocybin for medical purposes.