New Zealand's pharmaceutical regulatory body Medsafe has approved the use of pharmaceutical-grade MDMA for the treatment of severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), making the country only the second worldwide to do so. The approval, granted on Friday to two psychiatrists, allows them to prescribe the drug for patients with severe PTSD.
Approval follows Australia’s 2023 decision
The move follows Australia's approval in 2023 of psychedelics to treat PTSD and treatment-resistant depression. New Zealand's decision marks a significant step in the global acceptance of psychedelic-assisted therapy.
Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour, who last year backed the approval of magic mushrooms to treat severe depression, voiced support for the decision. “PTSD ruins lives and is difficult to treat,” Seymour said. “MDMA can be very effective at treating it through psychedelic-assisted therapy.”
Government commitment to innovative treatments
Seymour stated that New Zealand is committed to opening up access to “innovative treatments.” PTSD is a mental health condition that can develop after a person experiences or is threatened by traumatic events such as death, combat, or sexual assault.
The approval comes amid ongoing clinical trials in the United States, where the Food and Drug Administration rejected legalising MDMA's medicinal use in 2024, citing insufficient evidence of its safety and effectiveness. In the US, pharmaceutical treatment options for PTSD have been limited to two antidepressants that require three months of dosing to take effect, with uneven response rates.
Controlled clinical setting required
Wellington's Ministry of Health said MDMA-assisted treatment would be combined with psychotherapy and stressed that patients would not be supplied drugs to take home. “Treatment takes place in a controlled clinical setting under the care of an authorised psychiatrist and forms part of a comprehensive treatment plan,” the ministry said. Patients must be aged 18 or older.
A study in Israel last year found that MDMA taken by partygoers at the Nova music festival, where hundreds were killed by Hamas in the 7 October attacks, had been helpful in cushioning the impact of the trauma they endured.
