Magic Mushroom trial to begin at Melbourne hospital

Synthetic “magic mushrooms” will be prescribed to those in palliative care under an Australian first medical trial in Melbourne.

It’s taken more than a year for the St Vincent’s Hospital trial to be approved by state and federal authorities.

Treatment of the first 30 patients will begin in April.

Dr Margaret Ross, clinical psychologist at St Vincent’s, says the aim is to ease the anxiety felt by patients not responding to other forms of treatment in their final days.

“We do have fairly strict exclusion criteria,” she said on 3AW Breakfast.

Reason Party leader Fiona Patten welcomed the news.

“I think it’s pretty exciting,” she said.

Click PLAY below to hear more on 3AW Breakfast