In what is believed to be the first case of its kind, a Victorian doctor is fighting against the Victorian Department of Health to get permission to use MDMA as medical treatment, per the ABC. TLDR: if he wins the case, the court will have to basically admit that in certain medicinal contexts, pingers are good, actually.
Eli Kotler is a consultant psychiatrist from Victoria. Back in August, he tried to get permission to use ecstasy on his patient that he says is “quite unwell” and suffering from a “range of mental health issues”.
That proposal was shot down by the state’s Department of Health. Its acting chief officer of medicines and poisons regulation, Stefan Tulloch, told Kotler in a letter that there was “insufficient data to establish safety and efficacy” around safely using what’s classified as a “Schedule 9 poison in clinical practice”.
Now, he’s challenging that decision. According to the department’s barrister, Kylie Evans, it’s the first case of its kind and the results could be huge.
“As far as we’re aware, this is the first such case that will be heard in a court in Australia, seeking permission from the state to treat a patient with MDMA,” Evans said.
To help support their decision, Kotler’s lawyer Greg Barns SC is reaching out to two international experts in the field in California and the United Kingdom.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is considering downgrading MDMA (as well as magic mushrooms) to a controlled drug. If that happens, it would effectively allow it to be used for medical treatment in specific circumstances. This would effectively allow the drugs to be used for medical treatment in specific circumstances. That decision is expected early next year and if the TGA reaches that conclusion, it would make this case irrelevant.
Aussie scientists at The University of Queensland are currently looking into how magic mushrooms could treat depression, addictions, and disorder behaviours. The research project is funded by the state government and part of a larger scheme of studies examining the use of substances like magic mushrooms, ecstasy, and ketamine in treating those diseases.
We’ll learn more about this as things develop. As of publishing, MDMA can only be used for medicinal research, scientific, and/or teaching purposes. Well, legally speaking, anyway.
