Psychedelic Outlaws by Joanna Kempner review – a compelling case for the use of magic mushrooms in pain relief

The US sociologist’s study of psychoactive fungi to treat little-known medical conditions such as cluster headaches is well researched and wide ranging

I thought I was fine with being bald. But the chance of a cure has stirred up all sorts of feelings

It’s almost 30 years since I lost my hair to alopecia. What if Pfizer’s drug Litfulo could bring it back? asks Guardian columnist Emma Beddington

UK universities urged to end drugs zero tolerance and focus on harm reduction

Report proposing new approach welcomed by mother of Jeni Larmour, who died after taking alcohol and ketamine

Pills or patches, sprays or gels … everything you need to know about HRT

Is hormone replacement therapy right for you and, if it is, what type should you take? All your key questions answered

‘It feels like we’ve been lobotomised’: the possible sexual consequences of SSRIs

Long-term sexual dysfunction is a side-effect for some patients who take these widely prescribed antidepressants, and can leave sufferers devastated

Doctors fighting US opioid epidemic say insurance barrier impedes treatment

Prior authorization requires permission to be sought before prescribing critical drugs, which could cost lives, doctors say

‘Long-lost best friends’: the longevity movement finds psychedelics

The mental-health benefits of psychedelics are a draw for a growing community of people committed to reversing ageing

‘They thought I had cancer’: painkiller banned in UK linked to Britons’ deaths in Spain

Patients’ group says reactions to metamizole can cause sepsis and organ failure – and British and Irish people are at higher risk

My topical steroid withdrawal: ‘Water felt like acid, my body was ablaze and I shed skin like a snake’

I was prescribed steroid cream for my eczema – but when I stopped using it I ended up in A&E. Much more research is needed into this debilitating condition

What is Primodos and why were 100 UK families seeking compensation?

Concerns about birth defects first raised in 1960s but evidence for causal link to pregnancy test remains contentious

UK families lose bid for compensation over Primodos pregnancy test drug

High court rules there is insufficient new evidence of causal link between hormone-based test and birth defects

Psychonauts by Mike Jay review – the drug-takers who changed history

Humphry Davy on laughing gas, Sigmund Freud on cocaine … how self-experimentation shaped science and art

The trauma doctor: Gabor Maté on happiness, hope and how to heal our deepest wounds

The physician, author and self-help guru came to worldwide prominence when he appeared with Prince Harry last month. He discusses the mind-body connection, the reality of addiction and why trauma can be treated

The big idea: should doctors be able to prescribe psychedelics?

A move to allow Australian psychiatrists to treat depression with psilocybin may herald a new era

You can’t just cheer up people who have depression. There’s a key role for antidepressants

The NHS is planning to offer patients art, music and gardening classes rather than antidepressants. Nice idea, but it won’t work, writes psychotherapist Lucy Cavendish