Why it matters: The granting of a psilocybin mushroom license in New Zealand is a major milestone in Māori health science and represents a shift in attitudes towards psychedelic substances in therapy. It opens up opportunities for exploring the therapeutic potential of psilocybin and marks innovative collaboration between rongoā Māori practitioners, researchers, and community stakeholders.
What they are saying: The license was granted to Rua Bioscience, a biopharmaceutical business, who will be exploring psilocybin’s potential in treating conditions like addiction. The use of psilocybin in traditional Māori medicine has been practiced for centuries, and this study plans to use the whole mushroom rather than a single extract or synthetically produced psilocybin. The collaboration is seen as a unique opportunity to combine Mātauranga Māori, psychedelic traditions, and contemporary neuroscience research.
The big picture: While Australia has legalized psilocybin for therapeutic purposes, New Zealand has no plans to reclassify it. However, psychedelic-assisted therapy trials with exemptions are booming in New Zealand, with applications for using psilocybin in clinical trials increasing in the past 18 months. Research is also being conducted on the potential benefits of MDMA for cancer patients, and progress has been made in allowing the use of domestically produced medicinal cannabis products.
What to watch: The results of the psilocybin mushroom research in New Zealand will provide insights into its therapeutic potential and could lead to further advancements in psychedelic-assisted therapy. It will be important to observe how the collaboration between Māori practitioners, researchers, and community stakeholders unfolds and whether it can serve as a model for culturally safe and inclusive research practices.
My take: The granting of a psilocybin mushroom license in New Zealand is an exciting development that highlights the growing interest in exploring the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics. The combination of traditional Māori medicine, contemporary neuroscience research, and the involvement of diverse stakeholders in the study is a promising approach. It will be interesting to see how this research contributes to the field of psychedelic-assisted therapy and if it can pave the way for other countries to embrace similar initiatives.
