A new study aimed at understanding the attitudes and positions of key Australian organisational and political stakeholders towards using psychedelic agents in medically supervised environments to treat mental health conditions has found that while key players are 'cautiously optimistic' about the use of the drugs, they believe there is insufficient evidence to support widespread clinical use. 

The study involved interviews with Australian politicians and representatives of key stakeholder organisations between September 2022 and January 2023, shortly before the Therapeutic Goods Administration granted approval for some psychiatrists to prescribe psychedelic agents MDMA and psilocybin for treating specific mental health conditions. 

The participants suggested additional research and a clear presentation of this research are needed before the clinical use of psychedelics can be supported. 

The paper finds that much about psychedelic therapeutic use in Australia is still unknown, including where pharmaceutical-grade psychedelics will be obtained, how they will be regulated, and the costs and potential subsidies for medicines and associated therapies.