Spigzy wrote: ↑Sun Jul 02, 2023 1:39 pm They've been set up. Real Chinese criminals only wear black.

PERTH, Australia — The scientist held up the container of clear liquid and examined it. At a rave, it could be sold by its street names “ecstasy” or “molly.” But here, in a university lab in one of the most remote cities in the world, experts are harnessing MDMA with a therapeutic purpose in mind.

The team of chemists at the University of Western Australia have been working to modify the chemical compound so it can be better used for mental health treatments.

It’s a mission that has suddenly became more urgent, after Australia announced it would become the first country to allow psychiatrists to widely prescribe MDMA to treat post-traumatic stress disorder.

“We will have a lot of attention on us as this rolls out,” said Michael Winlo, the chief executive of Australian biotech company Emyria, which is partly funding the lab’s work.

Australia’s drug regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, surprised just about everybody — including the country’s health institutions — when it ruled that from July, MDMA would be rescheduled from a prohibited to a controlled substance. It will also allow psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, to be used in therapy for treatment-resistant depression.