28 January 2021 - A group of prominent Australians is continuing to push for greater access to psychedelic drugs to treat mental health problems, saying the benefits and cost of in­action are impossible to ignore.

As the health regulator prepares to release an interim decision on the issues next week, psychiatrists and public figures, including Admiral Chris Barrie and former trade minister Andrew Robb, have backed Mind Medicine Australia’s pleas to ease restrictions around medical use of psychedelics. 

The February 3 decision by the Therapeutic Goods Administration will determine whether psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) and MDMA (ecstasy) will be rescheduled from prohibited substances to controlled drugs, making it easier for psychiatrists and researchers to access them.

Read The Australian article