Starting from July 1, the psychedelic substances psilocybin, which is found in magic mushrooms, and MDMA, which is commonly known as ecstasy, will be reclassified from prohibited to controlled drugs.
This regulatory change opens the door for approved psychiatrists to prescribe psilocybin for depression and MDMA for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
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On today’s episode of The Briefing, Rodney Cox, CEO of Vitura Health, joined co-host Jan Fran to discuss a significant milestone in regulating psychedelic drugs in Australia.
Cox said the legislative changes in 2016 opened up opportunities for establishing a joint venture company in Australia, and building a brand new industry with his colleagues in the US and Canada.
We see the trajectory of growth of psychedelics following in a similar way that medicinal cannabis did in Australia, where there were early adopters in terms of prescribers, early adopters in terms of patients,
Cox said.
He said the medicines would be manufactured and exported from Canada as the company had signed a deal with local pharmaceutical companies, pharmacies and Biotech.
They’re not being manufactured here in Australia. The initial market entry, the rollout for our business here in Australia, will be an import model,”
he said.
Cox said medicines were imported into Australia under federal import permits, which would be stored in a very controlled and secure way.
The main customers for these drugs in Australia are psychiatrists who have been designated as authorised prescribers by heart rate and a panel of experts.
This authorisation enables them to obtain the drugs from the company and administer them to patients within a very controlled setting.
This is not something you’re going down to a chemist warehouse to buy. Absolutely not.”
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