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The Royal College of Psychiatrists issued a position statement at the end of August highlighting the need for improved care and systems to address the impact of non-recent child sexual abuse (CSA) on the mental health of adults. Like other forms of trauma, the report noted how CSA is alarmingly prevalent and has enduring consequences for health and wellbeing but lacks adequate, effective treatment. The immediate past President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists Dr Lade Sm

Chronic pain and anxiety are two common conditions for which medicinal cannabis (MC) is prescribed in Australia. Project Twenty21 Australia was an observational study that investigated the effectiveness of MC for chronic pain, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and multiple sclerosis, following patients for up to 12 months. The analysis reported in this paper is restricted to patients prescribed one specific full-spectrum high cannabidiol (CBD) oil, CannC CBD3000/5000, f

Nutt et al. recently proposed a common lexicon for psychedelic science including dosing categories for different forms of psychedelic use across multiple substances.

Psychosis is a severe and debilitating condition with relatively few effective treatments. For this reason, there is ongoing interest in identifying factors that may make someone more likely to develop psychosis, with the aim of developing intervention and prevention strategies. A recent meta-analysis by Carly Stevens and colleagues examined the associations between the age of first cannabis use and the age of onset of psychosis. Several aspects of the findings deserve furthe

Nutt et al. recently proposed a common lexicon for psychedelic science including dosing categories for different forms of psychedelic use across multiple substances.

Of all the psychedelic treatments now under investigation, MDMA-assisted psychotherapy is among the most advanced. Two Phase III trials have supported its efficacy and safety for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and by the usual standards it met or exceeded the bar for a treatment to be considered empirically supported. Even so, in 2024 the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declined to approve it, citing a range of limitations.

Australia approved the use of psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression in 2023, becoming the first nation to formally integrate the drug into clinical practice. New Zealand, by contrast, kept psilocybin as a Class A controlled drug and confined it almost entirely to research until mid-2025, when it opened a single, tightly bounded route to clinical prescribing without changing the drug’s legal status.

A UK study of 46 deaths among methadone-treated patients at a London practice found that in half of the 8 cases labeled "methadone poisoning" by coroners, the clinical evidence pointed elsewhere. The authors say toxicology reports cite a fixed "fatal" blood level without accounting for how much tolerance varies between patients, misleading coroners.

A new Australian study of 522 medicinal cannabis patients found significant improvements in chronic pain, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms (plus sleep, mood, and quality of life) within three months, with gains holding steady for a full year. Adverse events were rare and mostly mild, though the study's lack of a control group means placebo effects can't be ruled out.

Since 2018, cannabis-based products for medicinal use have been available on prescription in the UK. However, NHS access remains exceptionally limited. NHS figures reported to Parliament show that fewer than five patients have received prescriptions for unlicensed products, while more than 1.4 million people are estimated to use cannabis for medical purposes. Private clinics are the main lawful route outside the NHS, but many cannot afford the ongoing costs.

A person opens a chatbot late at night and asks whether the pills they have taken are safe. They may not know what the pills contain. They may be frightened, intoxicated, embarrassed, alone, or avoiding services because of stigma or criminalisation. In that moment, any answer will shape the next decision: seek help, wait, mix substances, or take more. When we talk about drugs, the wrong decision can have fatal consequences.

Opioids are among the most effective medicines for treating pain, but they also carry significant risks, including dependence and overdose. This guide explains what opioids are, how opioid dependence is treated, why synthetic opioids like fentanyls and nitazenes are especially dangerous, and what steps can help reduce harm and save lives.

Over the past decade, psychedelics have moved from the margins of psychiatry into some of the world's leading academic centres, where they are being investigated for conditions ranging from treatment-resistant depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to addiction, anorexia nervosa and end-of-life anxiety. The results have generated real excitement, particularly for psilocybin, where several large studies have shown rapid and sometimes sustained benefits after only

We're proud to release updated MDMA and psilocybin educational modules, developed with Norrsken Mind and Mind Medicine Australia, bringing pharmacology, history, and law fully up to date.

Medication-related harm is a leading cause of adverse health outcomes worldwide. However, incentive-linked prescribing – a practice where physicians prescribe expensive or unnecessary medications in exchange for incentives from pharmaceutical companies – is often overlooked as a contributing factor to medication-related harm.

Albert Hofmann, the Swiss scientist who discovered LSD, lived to the remarkable age of 102. Was that simply the result of good genes, a good diet or a healthy lifestyle, or is there more to the story? No one knows the answer. But researchers are beginning to ask an intriguing question: Could psychedelics help people live longer and stay healthier as they age?

In the coming months, Drug Science will be taking a more active role in lobbying for scientifically backed drug policy. To achieve this, we are teaming up with Liam Hackett of the HALI Foundation to give the public the tools they need to become politically engaged and take the conversation to their local MPs.

A recent meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials, published in Lancet Psychiatry, concluded there was little evidence that cannabinoids help treat mental health conditions (Wilson et al, 2026). It got plenty of media coverage, much of which made the classic mistake of treating 'lack of evidence of benefit' as 'evidence of lack of benefit'. They're not the same thing.

RCTs of cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) for anxiety consistently show little evidence of efficacy, yet patient use continues to grow. This editorial argues the discrepancy is largely artefactual, reflecting flawed trial methodology rather than a genuine lack of benefit.

Almost three years ago, Australia made history when the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved access to MDMA for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression, making it the first country in the world to formally recognise these substances as medicines.

In June 2026, a committee of house members in the Irish Parliament published more than 150 recommendations for moving the country towards a health-led approach to drug possession. At the top of the list was the recommendation to decriminalise the possession of all drugs for personal use, to be achieved by repealing Section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 criminalising possession.

New framework will establish rigorous clinical and ethical baselines for non-clinical practitioner assessment.

Harm reduction specialists, Mat Southwell and Alexei Lakhov draw on their lived experience as people who use drugs to reflect on new guidance on drug decriminalisation. They share hope that creating a legal enabling environment for the HIV response will help end AIDS among people who use drugs.