New Zealand recently took a baby step toward the use of psychedelics to treat depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance abuse by allowing one and only one psychiatrist to prescribe psilocybin, the hallucinogen found in “magic mushrooms.” For an update on the status of legalization in the United States, see this article in the summer issue of Regulation.
In August 2024, the Food and Drug Administration rejected the first application for federally approved psychedelic therapy. But innovation is occurring at the state level. Oregon’s 2020 Psilocybin Services Act and Colorado’s 2022 Natural Medicine Health Act provide early blueprints. New Mexico has recently enacted its own medicinally focused psychedelic reform law as well.
We do not need to wait for the FDA.