On track with fungi

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

A new health project involving the psychedelic native fungi weraroa, is under way in Tairāwhiti with support from many different organisations that work with whenua and health.

The haukāenga (people) of Rangiwaho Marae, south of Turanga Gisborne, are hoping to develop therapies for whānau addicted to methamphetamine.

The project involves the cultivation, testing and utilisation of weraroa, an indigenous fungi known to contain psilocybin, the compound found in “magic mushrooms” and classified since the 1970s in New Zealand as a Class A drug.

“The fungi is endemic to Aotearoa — taonga tuku iho — and we found specimens on our whenua here at Rangiwaho,” said Jody Toroa, a Rangiwaho Marae trustee and one of the project leaders.

“There are some very promising studies overseas using psilocybin to treat addictions and depression. We hope to show how applying tikanga Māori, a cultural component, to the treatment, can make it even more effective, especially for whānau Māori,” Toroa said.

Kay Robin, a Rangiwaho Marae trustee, was the person who found the weraroa within Rangiwaho whenua.

“It seemed like I was just plodding along after doing a karakia, and I said ‘hey could this be it?' and it was. All of us who were there took it as a tohu (sign) that our tīpuna were with us and we were on the right track,” Robin said.

The weekend before Cyclone Gabrielle, a wānanga was hosted by Rangiwaho that included the project members from around Aotearoa New Zealand.

During this wānanga, the focus was on the progressing of plans and learning more about the latest science on psilocybin therapies, fungi research and relevant rongoā processes to be used in the trials.

“It felt serendipitous — we all came together from completely different backgrounds and we all just clicked. The whole wānanga, we were on the same page. We covered a lot of information that we had no idea about,” Robin said.

“We have been enlightened as tangata whenua and non-academics about what is out there.

“It felt like everything was coming together. The kaupapa was driving us and we were all on the same page. It was on how we can get to the next stage and continue to support each other.”

Researchers from Manaaki Whenua and ESR, two Crown Research Institutes, have been working on methods to cultivate mycelium from the Rangiwaho samples and identify the levels of active compounds in the fungi.

Medical researchers from the University of Auckland, University of Waikato, University of Otago and Mātai Medical Research Institute have also been working with the marae whānau, rongoā practitioners and local pharmaceutical companies on clinical trial designs for the marae-based therapy programme.

The project plans to start with a basic trial on a number of healthy adult volunteers to demonstrate the safety of the product and process before introducing participants with more complex psychological, cultural and physical needs.

Mātai Research Institute researcher and addictions specialist Dr Patrick McHugh, who works for iwi health provider Turanga Health, has been working with whānau affected by methamphetamine and had read about breakthrough treatments using magic mushrooms and psilocybin.

“There are traditions of using psychedelics in most indigenous cultures around the world going back millennia,” Dr McHugh said.

“Western medicine is only now rediscovering the benefits and working out what is safe and effective treatment. Many traditions have used psychedelics, including fungi, to treat human illnesses and of course also for spiritual and creative experiences,” he said.

Methamphetamine use is not effectively treated at the moment, with most regimens involving psychological interventions which are not widely available and have variable efficacy — around 50-60 percent of patients relapse within 6-12 months. There are currently no Medsafe or FDA-approved pharmacotherapies for methamphetamine use disorder.

University of Waikato neuroscientist and Māori post-doctoral fellow Dr Mitchell Head has been helping write the clinical trial protocols for the project.

“It's a super exciting opportunity for Māori to be leading this work and to look at how we join rongoa Māori practices with western medical research,” said Dr Head.

“The interdisciplinary nature of this mahi is critical. We all have something to contribute and the marae-based context is a core part of the therapy,” he said.

The project participants have been brought together by biotechnology innovator Manu Caddie who has a background in pharmaceuticals and natural health products based on other native species including kanuka, kina and mosses.

Mr Caddie co-founded NZX-listed medicinal cannabis company Rua Bioscience in 2018.

He has helped connect the marae whānau with researchers keen to support the groundbreaking initiative.

He said there were some issues regarding the regulatory situation of taonga species.

“This is a taonga species. While some varieties of psilocybin fungi are listed in the Misuse of Drugs Act, Māori control and utilisation of weraroa is protected under Article Two of Te Tiriti” said Mr Caddie.

A response from the Ministry of Health to inquiries Mr Caddie made about the regulatory situation with a taonga species did not clarify matters.

“The Ministry recommended anyone involved should get a Controlled Drugs licence, but we don't see the need for that at this stage,” said Mr Caddie.

“The Waitangi Tribunal report on the WAI262 claim makes it very clear that Maori have a right to utilise, and responsibility to care for, indigenous species.”

Mr Caddie said that CRIs and universities have ensured they have the necessary licences just to ensure they don't jeopardise other research projects they need Medsafe licences for.

“The new Therapeutic Products Bill really needs to include a parallel regulatory pathway for products using indigenous species. This would ensure it is compliant with Treaty obligations and puts Māori in control of our taonga — instead of the Crown or anyone else, as is the case now.”

Mr Caddie said that in the absence of any bioprospecting legislation or regulation, companies had been able to exploit indigenous organisms that belonged to Māori.

Across the ditch, Australia's government recently committed $15m to researching therapeutic uses for psychedelics and the medical regulator this month approved the use of psychedelics to treat some mental health conditions, making the country one of the first in the world to officially recognise psilocybin as medicine.

Authorised psychiatrists will be able to prescribe MDMA for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression.

International studies looking at psychedelics' ability to treat mental health conditions have shown promising results; however, more research into their long-term effects is required.

From July 1, authorised psychiatrists in Australia will be allowed to prescribe MDMA — the active ingredient in party drugs such as Ecstasy or “molly” — to treat PTSD.

They will also be allowed to prescribe psilocybin, a compound found in psychotropic “magic” mushrooms, for treatment-resistant depression.

Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration said the decision addressed the “lack of options” for people with some mental illnesses that did not respond to other treatments.

New Zealand has a small number of psychedelic therapy trials under way but the Health Research Council has no dedicated fund to help accelerate the development of new medicines and therapies in this field.

Mr Caddie said in the absence of any bioprospecting legislation or regulation, companies had been able to exploit indigenous organisms that actually belong to Māori.

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