In spite of the fact that Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) (Australia’s equivalent to the U.S. FDA) recently decided not to reschedule psilocybin and MDMA to a form of controlled medicine, it did not signal a hardline approach to psychedelics as a viable way to treat mental disorders and illnesses.
Marijuana softened the outlook of many nations because of its many physical and mental benefits, and this has paved the way for taking another look at psychedelic compounds to do the same. Pharmaceutical-led trials and studies have shown powerful results when it comes to micro-dosing substances like MDMA, DMT, psilocybin, et al for alleviating the symptoms of PTSD, depression, suicide ideation, anxiety, as well as opiate addiction.
For these reasons, governments are taking a long, hard look at many compounds – the results are too strong, and the benefits to society, too good, to ignore. That’s leaving aside the failed “War On Drugs” that has become a multi-billion dollar industry and clogged up and burdened our judicial and penal systems.
Australia has thrown its hat in the proverbial ring by officially granting $15 million towards psychedelic trials to treat mental illness. This has given new hope for those disappointed by the TGA’s recent “interim” decision to not reschedule MDMA and psilocybin from the list of prohibited substances.
Opponents of the rescheduling have not necessarily voiced their disapproval to these substances, but have instead prefered a conservative approach to accepting them until they have proven themselves as effective as traditional, existing treatments.
Proponents are concerned that will the TGA has its conservative and reserved approach that is slow as mollasses, there are millions of people languishing with their mental illnesses. Australia currently has a mental illness rate of 14%m a rate which includes substance abuse.
With over 5 decades of studies and trials on psychedelics, many wonder how much more the TGA is looking for. There are mountains of data proving the mental health benefits and this data has been public knowledge and accessible to all. Even if psychedelics were shown to be slightly less effective as traditional medicines, having far fewer side effects (or none at all) makes it a better alternative. In addition, psychedelic treatment often means the individual no longer needs them after they have finished or have been cured of their disorder.
Of course, in cases of resistance it often is founded on money: the desire for many politicans to be involved in the ground level to make sure they benefits finacially from the inspections, fees, taxes, and many other regulatory injuctions. After all, there isn’t a nation in the world where politicians and pharmaceutical companies are not interwovem financially and for this reason there is not only resistance but these companies wield a tremendous amount of power.
It’s unreasonable, even cruel, to ask the 14% of the populace to wait for the politicians to sink their greedy hands into the psychedelic pie and go through the process of regulating psychedelic treatment – a process by which governments are infamous for taking far too long to finalize.
