Welcome to Ask Doctor Zac, a weekly column from news.com.au. This week, Dr Zac Turner explains the potential of so-called ‘party drugs’ in mental healthcare.
QUESTION: Hi Dr Zac, Why are doctors starting to use party drugs as medicine? I’ve read online that doctors in Australia are starting to prescribe mushrooms and MDMA for mental health disorders. I’ve had fun taking these drugs at parties but never thought they would be useful in medicine, especially because of the comedown afterwards; how can that be good for mental health? I know medical marijuana and CBD oils are starting to take off, but what’s the future for these other drugs? How would someone be prescribed these drugs? I’m asking for a friend of course. – Caleb, Coffs Harbour
ANSWER: This topic certainly is fascinating. It’s also one that is very new to the medical world, and has certainly divided medical practitioners who were educated in different decades let alone generations. The question really is: Is it MDMAmazing or MDMAwful?
Let me just start by saying these drugs aren’t being prescribed like your run-of-the-mill pharmaceuticals. Pharmacies won’t overnight become trap houses servicing Australia’s club scene. For the most part, MDMA and Psilocybin mushrooms ...
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