Could psychedelic mushrooms help loosen the grip of meth? That’s the question driving a ground-breaking initiative in Tairāwhiti on the East Coast, uniting Rangiwaho Marae, the New Zealand Institute for Public Health and Forensic Science (PHF Science), and researchers from across Aotearoa New Zealand.
Commonly known as ‘magic mushrooms’, Psilocybe fungi contain the compounds psilocybin and psilocin, long recognised for their hallucinogenic effects. In recent years, these compounds have drawn scientific interest for their potential to treat addiction and other some mental health conditions.
In Tairāwhiti, researchers hope that the unique chemistry of New Zealand’s native Psilocybe species could help people break free from methamphetamine dependence and rebuild healthier lives. That vision underpins Tū Wairua, a partnership between Rangiwaho Marae, PHF Science, the Bioeconomy Science Institute, the Universities of Auckland and Waikato, and Rua Bioscience.
Backed by the government’s Strategic Science Investment Fund, the Tū Wairua project has been underway for nearly two years. What distinguishes it from most international research is its dedication to using the entire mushroom, creating “full spectrum extracts” rather than relying on synthetic psilocybin. It’s an approach rooted in both science and kaupapa Māori, and it brings its own unique challenges and opportunities.
From clinical trials to cultivation
The project recently completed the first phase of its clinical trials, which used a commercially available mushroom extract sourced from overseas. The long-term vision is more ambitious: to cultivate, study and eventually create medicine from New Zealand’s own psilocybe species.
New Zealand is thought to have at least ten psilocybe species. Because these mushrooms are classified as a Class A controlled substance, they have never been systematically studied – until now. PHF Science researchers working with Tū Wairua have travelled across the North Island to collect samples, taking tissue cultures back to the lab for further cultivation. Our scientists, in collaboration with the Bioeconomy Science Institute, have also been working to cultivate these species indoors for the first time, testing a wide range of growing conditions to mimic the specific triggers that promote their growth in the wild. Early DNA analysis has already begun, and the first laboratory-grown fruiting bodies are expected in the coming months.
Decoding the chemistry
A key focus for PHF Science within the Tū Wairua partnership is to characterise the chemical composition of New Zealand’s native psilocybe species. This means analysing the psychoactive compounds within these fungi and how they shift under different growing conditions, building the scientific foundations for the kaupapa.
To unlock the secrets of our native mushrooms, PHF Science is using a technique called liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. This is a powerful analytical method that can identify and quantify not only the primary psychoactive compounds, but a range of lesser-known compounds that may influence the user’s experience.
So far, the team has started with wild mushrooms, but the real work lies ahead with cultivated samples grown under controlled conditions. They’ll be asking questions like: do different species contain different combinations of psychoactive compounds? Do strains within the same species vary? How do levels shift as the mushroom grows, or even between the cap and the stem? And what role do soil, temperature and humidity play in changing the chemical profile of the mushroom?
It’s no easy task. Psilocybin and its close cousin psilocin are fragile, breaking down quickly when exposed to various elements. But by piecing together this chemical puzzle, the team hopes to pinpoint one species that can reliably produce a stable, full-spectrum extract, paving the way for future clinical trials.
Beyond addiction
While the immediate goal of Tū Wairua is to provide a new treatment pathway for methamphetamine addiction, the project’s implications reach much further. The liquid mass spectrometry method developed by PHF Science holds significant advantages over previously employed forensic techniques, allowing for quantitative detection of a range of psychoactive compounds in mushrooms at markedly lower concentrations than prior methodology. This is increasingly important as psilocybin mushrooms grow in popularity both legally (as research medicine) and illegally (in recreational markets).
There are also safety stakes. Current rapid screening kits cannot reliably tell psilocybin mushrooms apart from deadly look-alikes containing amatoxin, the toxin behind mushroom poisonings worldwide, including the recent high-profile case in Australia. Tū Wairua researchers are already exploring whether they can develop a new, accurate screening test that could prevent such tragedies.
An international perspective
The Tū Wairua team isn’t working in isolation. Recent trips to the United States and Canada have given researchers first-hand insight into large-scale mushroom cultivation and forensic testing overseas. These international exchanges are helping shape best practices back home while keeping New Zealand’s research at the cutting edge.
As psilocybin gains recognition overseas as a prescribed medicine, New Zealand’s contribution through Tū Wairua is both timely and distinctive. By combining Mātauranga Māori, advanced chemistry, and cultivation science, the project is charting a path that is uniquely our own.
If successful, Tū Wairua won’t just add to global knowledge on psychedelics. It could offer new hope for communities battling methamphetamine addiction, while deepening understanding of our own native taonga species. In doing so, it bridges tradition and innovation, showing how science, culture, and community can come together in pursuit of healing