MDMA and psilocybin are approved as medicines in Australia • Hacker News Board

Re: MDMA and psilocybin are approved as medicines in Australia

#121

Post by donnythecroc » Sat, Feb 04, 2023, 9:31 AM UTC

cactusplant7374 wrote: post #32

andrewstuart wrote: post #3

Remember this is Australia - a very conservative country. Marijuana possession remains a criminal offence here in most places, with minimal sign this will change any time soon. When they say "for medical usage", they mean it. This is not just a nice acceptable easing in of liberal recreational drugs policy. Don't expect to be buying party drugs from the chemist before going out on saturday night. Despite the fact tha…

The question is how many hoops does the patient have to jump through to get the treatment. In the US some doctors want their patients to try 10 drugs + ECT + TMS before prescribing ketamine for TRD.

2 treatments if it's the same as THC and CBD. Not hard and they just ask you, they don't check records.

Re: MDMA and psilocybin are approved as medicines in Australia

#122

Post by dntrkv » Sat, Feb 04, 2023, 9:33 AM UTC

TaylorAlexander wrote: post #76

tempsy wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

recreational doses are not necessarily therapeutic doses if you are taking a psychedelic as part of some therapy regime it is not a tripping balls level dose

Everything I've learned about therapeutic psilocybin treatment is that the doses involved are actually quite a bit higher than I've ever done on a trip at home. For example for psychedelic therapy with psilocybin, you would see a therapist a few times with no psilocybin, then you would have a session where you take something like the equivalent of 1 gram of dried mushrooms, and go through that session with the therap…

5 grams? Most people would absolutely lose their shit on that. Even an eighth of good mushrooms is enough to obliterate most people. Like complete ego death.

How long do these sessions last? What are the logistics? I’m very curious.

Re: MDMA and psilocybin are approved as medicines in Australia

#123

Post by donnythecroc » Sat, Feb 04, 2023, 9:33 AM UTC

luxuryballs wrote: post #4

I still wouldn’t risk obtaining them legally, discretion is paramount for controversial medicine. One tiny data leak and your reputation is tarnished in certain circles, and that doesn’t even get into why the government knowing about it could be risky.

Do you have serious depression with persistent suicidal thoughts? If not then this isn't designed for you. If you do then the last thing you'd be worried about is someone at work finding out because the alternative is to kill yourself.

Re: MDMA and psilocybin are approved as medicines in Australia

#124

Post by louhike » Sat, Feb 04, 2023, 9:34 AM UTC

cleanchit wrote: post #90

aeturnum wrote: post #25

This is fantastic! I am generally very pro-psychadelic - they seem like they can offer unique aid to people and they are not very prone to abuse. The only "downside" is that, because outcomes vary widely (though are generally not negative, simply unhelpful), it's hard to call them "medicine" in the way that, say, asprin is medicine. However, with the proper understanding, I'm hopeful they can be a really helpful tool…

Can you drive on psilocybin?

That would be a pretty bad idea. You could have visual hallucinations, be pretty slow and not thinking normally.

Re: MDMA and psilocybin are approved as medicines in Australia

#125

Post by Gatsky » Sat, Feb 04, 2023, 9:35 AM UTC

Good to hear.

IMHO the recent clinical trial results of psilocybin for depression were disappointing [1]. A single dose didn’t seem to have a lasting effect.

[1] https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2206443

Re: MDMA and psilocybin are approved as medicines in Australia

#126

Post by mathgladiator » Sat, Feb 04, 2023, 9:41 AM UTC

TaylorAlexander wrote: post #76

tempsy wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

recreational doses are not necessarily therapeutic doses if you are taking a psychedelic as part of some therapy regime it is not a tripping balls level dose

Everything I've learned about therapeutic psilocybin treatment is that the doses involved are actually quite a bit higher than I've ever done on a trip at home. For example for psychedelic therapy with psilocybin, you would see a therapist a few times with no psilocybin, then you would have a session where you take something like the equivalent of 1 gram of dried mushrooms, and go through that session with the therap…

I've done a heroic dose without help, and it is very hard to describe. However, I'll describe one part:

I went to the church of engineering and saw the manifest glory of all levels of abstraction that I understand and leverage to build _all_ at ONCE. I saw what I have been building in a new light ( https://www.adama-platform.com/ ). The absolute beauty of mathematics made me cry.

Ever since this event, I have been... ultra level. I'm just at peace. It's a wonderful experience. The whole "holy shit, I'm dying part..." was kind of rough.

Re: MDMA and psilocybin are approved as medicines in Australia

#127

Post by mathgladiator » Sat, Feb 04, 2023, 9:42 AM UTC

dntrkv wrote: post #122

TaylorAlexander wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everything I've learned about therapeutic psilocybin treatment is that the doses involved are actually quite a bit higher than I've ever done on a trip at home. For example for psychedelic therapy with psilocybin, you would see a therapist a few times with no psilocybin, then you would have a session where you take something like the equivalent of 1 gram of dried mushrooms, and go through that session with the therap…

5 grams? Most people would absolutely lose their shit on that. Even an eighth of good mushrooms is enough to obliterate most people. Like complete ego death. How long do these sessions last? What are the logistics? I’m very curious.

9 hours on a heroic dose

Re: MDMA and psilocybin are approved as medicines in Australia

#128

Post by mathgladiator » Sat, Feb 04, 2023, 9:44 AM UTC

cleanchit wrote: post #90

aeturnum wrote: post #25

This is fantastic! I am generally very pro-psychadelic - they seem like they can offer unique aid to people and they are not very prone to abuse. The only "downside" is that, because outcomes vary widely (though are generally not negative, simply unhelpful), it's hard to call them "medicine" in the way that, say, asprin is medicine. However, with the proper understanding, I'm hopeful they can be a really helpful tool…

Can you drive on psilocybin?

Nope, absolutely not... The world is not exactly straight, and things can get a bit melty.

Re: MDMA and psilocybin are approved as medicines in Australia

#129

Post by macsparrow » Sat, Feb 04, 2023, 9:48 AM UTC

andrewstuart wrote: post #3

Remember this is Australia - a very conservative country. Marijuana possession remains a criminal offence here in most places, with minimal sign this will change any time soon. When they say "for medical usage", they mean it. This is not just a nice acceptable easing in of liberal recreational drugs policy. Don't expect to be buying party drugs from the chemist before going out on saturday night. Despite the fact tha…

+1

Progress but unfortunately no chance the TGA will make this genuinely accessible.

Keep in mind, the TGA ensure you need a prescription to buy nicotine vaping products.

Re: MDMA and psilocybin are approved as medicines in Australia

#130

Post by myshpa » Sat, Feb 04, 2023, 9:56 AM UTC

M4v3R wrote: post #97

Atsuii wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It remains criminal to have any THC in your system when driving even with a prescription though. With no meaningful way to test if someone has consumed THC in the past 5 hours vs the night before it makes it a useless medical aid for anyone who has to drive, which outside of inner suburbs of Melbourne & Sydney is the vast majority of people in Australia.

> It remains criminal to have any THC in your system when driving even with a prescription though Rightly so. I mean maybe it’s too strict (i.e. you’re totally sober but still will be penalized for having anything show up in your blood) but in general driving under THC influence is as bad as driving on alcohol, you could get yourself and others killed.

> driving under THC influence is as bad as driving on alcohol

It's really not. There have been tests done by a government transport regulatory agency (in an EU country), comparing THC, alcohol and sober driving.

While alcohol promotes reckless driving (i know what i'm doing, i've got it, even if i don't), driving under THC is different, people are much more careful, even compared with the sober state. Slower driving, less incidents.

Alcohol makes you kill yourself and others, takes only few hours to get out of your system. THC makes you drive slower and more careful, can be found in blood days or weeks later (with no effect on cognition or faculties).

You're right that driving under any influence is (probably) not safe. But this seems like the same kind of stupid like testing your hair for drinking alcohol few months back.