Magic mushrooms are shedding their outlaw reputation in New Zealand, where the government on Wednesday approved psilocybin for limited medical use. The policy allows a single approved psychiatrist—Cameron Lacey, a professor at the University of Otago—to prescribe psilocybin to patients with treatment-resistant depression, according to Associate Health Minister David Seymour. Lacey has prescribed the drug before in clinical trials and will be subject to strict reporting and record-keeping rules.
Seymour called the move a "real breakthrough" and expressed hope that more psychiatrists would seek clearance to prescribe the substance. However, he noted that psilocybin—a naturally occurring hallucinogen found in "magic mushrooms"—is still classified as an "unapproved medicine." Radio New Zealand notes Seymour also said the country would allow the over-the-counter sale of the sleep aid melatonin for the first time.
As for the psilocybin move, Time reports that New Zealand is following in the footsteps of Australia, which last year allowed certain psychiatrists to prescribe psilocybin and MDMA for specific mental health diagnoses. Switzerland has permitted the medicinal use of psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA since 2014. In the US, Oregon, Colorado, and New Mexico have legalized therapeutic psilocybin, though access is heavily regulated, and costs can be high. (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
