Medsafe has approved two New Zealand psychiatrists to prescribe pharmaceutical-grade MDMA as part of a treatment programme for eligible adults with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The approval provides an additional treatment option for people whose symptoms have not responded to conventional therapies.
The decision brings New Zealand into line with Australia, where authorised psychiatrists have been able to provide MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD since 2023.
MDMA-assisted psychotherapy combines psychotherapy with the supervised use of pharmaceutical-grade MDMA as part of a broader treatment programme. Treatment takes place in a controlled clinical setting under the care of an authorised psychiatrist and forms part of a comprehensive treatment plan. Patients are not supplied with MDMA to take home.
While MDMA contains the same active ingredient found in the illicit drug commonly known as ecstasy, the product used in treatment is manufactured to a pharmaceutical standard and used under strict clinical supervision.
A range of safeguards apply to the approvals. Patients must be aged 18 or older and undergo a comprehensive clinical assessment before treatment is considered. Authorised psychiatrists must follow approved therapeutic protocols and make prescribing decisions on a case-by-case basis, supported by informed consent discussions with patients. The treatment is expected to be suitable for only a limited number of people and will be provided within strict clinical protocols.
To receive approval, the psychiatrists were required to demonstrate substantial expertise and provide detailed information about how treatment would be delivered safely and appropriately.
As part of making this decision, Medsafe carefully considered the balance between enabling innovative new treatments to be available for patients while also ensuring a comprehensive process to protect patients from potential harm.
The approval does not mean MDMA has been approved as a medicine in New Zealand. Evidence on its use for PTSD is still emerging internationally, and authorised use remains limited to the two approved psychiatrists. Any other clinician wishing to prescribe MDMA would require their own approval from Medsafe.
This follows Medsafe's 2025 approval for a psychiatrist to prescribe medicinal psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression. New Zealand currently has two clinicians approved to prescribe psilocybin and two approved to prescribe MDMA.
