- Hon David Seymour
Associate Health Minister David Seymour welcomes Medsafe’s approval of two psychiatrists to prescribe pharmaceutical grade MDMA to eligible patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
“PTSD ruins lives and is difficult to treat. MDMA can be very effective at treating it through psychedelic-assisted therapy,” Mr Seymour says.
“Recent changes have put New Zealand’s settings in line with Australia, where authorised prescribers have been providing MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD in clinical settings for some time.
“MDMA remains an unapproved medicine, but two experienced psychiatrists have already been granted authority to prescribe it to patients with PTSD.
“This is very good news for their patients, who will have been suffering for some time.
“There are a number of safeguards in place to ensure MDMA is prescribed safely and appropriately, as part of a psychedelic-assisted therapy approach.
“The clinicians will follow their therapeutic protocols and make decisions about whether treatment is appropriate for a patient following a comprehensive clinical assessment. Treatment with MDMA occurs as part of a comprehensive treatment plan and occurs in the prescriber’s clinic. Patients don’t get dispensed MDMA to take home.
“Practitioners must also meet a series of requirements to gain approval, including demonstrating expertise in the area and providing a detailed proposal of how they will administer the treatment.
“We’re committed to ensuring that the regulatory system for medicines is not unreasonably holding back access to emerging innovative treatments. It will lead to more Kiwis being able to access the medicines they need to live a fulfilling life.”
This decision does not approve a specific MDMA medicine, but the clinicians have provided information to Medsafe about the pharmaceutical grade product they propose to use. The decision is specific to the two psychiatrists, meaning no other clinician can prescribe MDMA. For another clinician to prescribe they would need specific approval from Medsafe.
