by Stewart Carter

The Victorian Goldfields branch of the Australian Psychedelic Society, working in conjunction with Castlemaine’s historic Theatre Royal, recently featured the rural Victorian premiere of the Canadian Documentary, Dosed 2: The Trip of a Lifetime.

After the sold-out screening, there was a lively panel discussion with some of Australia’s leading figures in the use of psychedelics in medicine. Panelists included Dr Justin Dwyer - psychiatrist and researcher at St Vincent's Hospital, Dr Karen Hitchcock - MD and author, and Dr Martin Williams - President of PRISM (Psychedelic Research in Science and Medicine). Also on the panel was Dr Margaret Ross.

Dr Ross is the Chief Principal Investigator for Australia’s first psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy study at St Vincent's Hospital in Melbourne. Psilocybin is a psychoactive compound found in magic mushrooms.

After the film each speaker spoke from their own experience and expertise, with active interest and questions from the audience. Local resident Dr Monica Barratt facilitated the discussion with insight and humour.

When asked why this research is important, Dr Ross said, "A growing number of healthcare professionals and academics can see the therapeutic potential of psychedelic-assisted therapies for a range of mental health/health conditions. We still need more research to understand this more thoroughly. Unfortunately, psychedelic-assisted therapy research was thwarted in the 1970s for political reasons, not scientific reasons. In fact, the data was achieving quite positive results. This very valuable research stopped for decades. So we have some catching up to do."

The event culminated in a fantastic performance by local psychedelic rock group, aplegate. The house was packed!

The Victorian Goldfields branch of the APS and the Theatre Royal walked away from the event extremely pleased, and there were smiles all round. Both parties look forward to collaborating again in the future.