April 04, 2024
Tapu mushrooms tested for addiction cure
Tairawhiti biopharmaceutical company Rua Bioscience is successfully growing magic mushrooms for research into their medicinal properties, including in the treatment of addiction.
The iwi-backed company has a licence to grow the indigenous Psilocybe Weraroa which contains Psilocybin – an illegal Class A substance under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
Jody Toroa from Rangiwaho Marae south of Gisborne says the marae will work alongside the company for clinical trials which begin in June.
She says whanau had knowledge of how to find the taonga fungi, and they also had experience in the taniwha of methamphetamine addiction.
“The whole journey of this has gethered momentum. There’s a lot of science institutes, there are a lot of our whanau who are already working with whanau in our own communities using the taonga as a way to give direction and focus to their own healtling journeys,” Ms Toroa says.
She says magic mushrooms were not a common rongoa for Maori, but the tupuna did call them whare atua indicating they were considered in a state of tapu.