Australia has become the first country to allow psychiatrists to prescribe psychedelics to patients with depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Report informs referring to Sky News Australia.
From July 1, Australian physicians can prescribe doses of MDMA, also known as ecstasy, for PTSD.
Psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient in so called "magic" mushrooms, can also be given to people who have hard-to-treat depression.
Authorities in the country have placed the two drugs on the list of approved medicines by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.
Some scientists in Australia were surprised by the move, which was announced in February but took effect on July 1.
One said it puts Australia "at the forefront of research in this field".
Chris Langmead, deputy director of the Neuromedicines Discovery Centre at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, said there have been very few advances in the treatment of persistent mental health issues in the last 50 years.