Doctor Wants To Treat Severely Ill Patient With Ecstasy, Brings Issue To Court

A doctor in Australia has brought his request to use a prohibited drug on a severely ill woman to a local court after it was rejected by government health agencies back in August.

Consultant psychiatrist Eli Kotler challenged the Victorian Department of Health's dismissal of his application to treat the unnamed patient with the drug 3,4-Methyl​enedioxy​methamphetamine (MDMA), or more commonly known as ecstasy, before the Moorabbin Magistrates' Court, Australian broadcaster ABC reported.

"The patient is quite unwell and has a range of mental health issues where it's believed MDMA would be safe and efficacious to use therapeutically,” Greg Barns SC, who is representing the Melbourne-based doctor, was quoted as saying.

Barns also told Magistrate Luisa Bazzani that his team would call two expert witnesses from California and the United Kingdom to make their case.

MDMA currently cannot be used for anything other than medical research and scientific or teaching purposes in Australia as it is classified as a Schedule 9 poison — the second highest tier in terms of risk in the country.

Victoria Department of Health acting chief officer of medicines and poisons regulation Stefan Tulloch claimed that "there is insufficient data to establish the safety and efficacy" for the use of a Schedule 9 classification poison like MDMA in clinical practice, according to the report.

The court's decision on Kotler's challenge would be significant, according to barrister Kylie Evans, who represents the Victorian Department of Health in the case.

"As far as we're aware, this is the first such case that... will be heard in a court in Australia, seeking permission from the state to treat a patient with MDMA," Evans explained.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), which regulates medicines, is considering downgrading MDMA and making it a controlled drug. The decision to change, which is expected to be realized early next year, would allow the drug to be used for medical treatment under strict conditions and would render Kotler's appeal moot.

A similar decision is to be made on the fungus psilocybin, which is the main compound in psychedelic "magic mushrooms."

The considerations were made after an independent expert review commissioned by the TGA into MDMA and psilocybin found that they both had potential as medical treatments.

"We conclude that MDMA and psilocybin may show promise in highly selected populations but only where these medicines are administered in closely clinically supervised settings and with intensive professional support," the review stated.

Kotler's court challenge was adjourned to early next year ahead of an appeal.