New Zealand Approves ‘Shrooms’ to Treat Depression
Brief June 18, 2025
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Psilocybin – a notorious hallucinogen found in “magic fungi” – is a substance controlled by the federal government that the United States considers “no medical use currently accepted” and “high abuse potential”.
But not everyone agrees with this evaluation: New Zealand became the last country on Wednesday to approve the use of the substance for therapeutic purposes.
David Seymour, associate minister of New Zealand health, told journalists that the new policy, which allows a unique approved psychiatrist to prescribe psilocybin to patients with resistant treatment, represents a “real breakthrough”.
Seymour said that the psychiatrist, identified as Cameron Lacey, a professor at the University of Otago, “prescribed psilocybin in clinical trials and will operate under strict reporting and registry holding requirements”. Seymour added that he hoped that more psychiatrists will require authorization to prescribe the drug to patients, although he said that the drug remains “not approved medication”.
At the same time as the change in psilocybin policy has been announced, New Zealand has announced its intention to loosen melatonin restrictions, which is used to treat insomnia and is sold over the counter for many other places. As Seymour has promised to expand access to treatments such as melatonin and psilocybine, no specific date has been set when they are available across the country.
Where is the use of psilocybin for legal medicinal purposes?
New Zealand is not the only one to allow medicinal use of the drug.
Australia, in July 2023, authorized psychiatrists specific to prescribe it for the treatment of certain mental health conditions.
In Switzerland, the use of LSD, MDMA and Psilocybine in medicine has been legal since 2014, both for the research and treatment of mental health problems.
And although the substance is generally illegal in Canada, regulated medical use is authorized under strict conditions.
Even certain states in the United States have enabled a certain degree of use.
Oregon became the first state to legalize the therapeutic use of psilocybin in 2020, although certain cities have prohibited the medication. However, in the state, access to the drug remains limited: it can only be administered in an approved psilocybine service center, and an administration session can cost up to $ 2,000, according to the Associated Press.
Colorado also legalized the regulated use of psilocybin for medical use to a vote in 2022, with the first licenses for the distribution published earlier this year. And in April, the new mexical legalized the use of psilocybin in an approved environment to deal with certain medical conditions.
The laws on regulated medical use of psilocybin also make their way through the legislatures of states such as Minnesota and Massachusetts.
Said Seymour by announcing the justification of New Zealand for changing his air on the medication: “If a doctor believes that Psilocybin can help, he should have the tools to try.”
