New research into native “magic” mushrooms could help treat severe depression, alcohol and drug addiction, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Scientists from the University of Queensland have been given approval to collect psilocybin mushrooms to help identify characteristics that might be useful for psychedelic treatments.

Edith Cowan University school of medical and health sciences addiction senior lecturer, Dr Stephen Bright, is hoping to conduct research in WA.

“What we are talking about here is doing clinical trials with the active ingredient of magic mushrooms and doing it in an appropriate setting,” he told Gareth Parker.

Dr Bright said magic mushrooms could replace the need for long term mental health drugs.

“There is this real sense at the moment that this might lead to a paradigm shift in psychiatry,” he said.

“This is about doing psycho therapy in which the person receives the drug on one or two occasions, and is aimed at curing the mental health condition rather than treating the symptoms.

“In some studies they have been able to do follow up, up to three and a half years afterwards, and people were still in remission then.”

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