NDC researchers featured on 'What Happens Next?' podcast episode on psychedelics
After years of very little pharmaceutical innovation in the treatment of mental illness, psychiatry is on the verge of something big: Psychedelic medicine is emerging as a game-changer.
The evidence of the efficacy of drugs like psilocybin (also known as magic mushrooms) and MDMA, used in conjunction with therapy for mental illness such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, is astounding. And as a society, we could use the help – the 2017-18 National Health Survey estimated that 1 in 5, or 4.8 million Australians, reported having a mental or behavioural condition, and the impact of the pandemic has only exacerbated the issue.
But the sociopolitical atmosphere surrounding illegal drugs – including psychedelics – has made research and development a difficult proposition.