We’ve been getting mixed messaging from the Canadian federal government. On one hand, Health Canada has been recently denying special permission for patients in need (see Health Canada Denies Psilocybin Access); and on the other, they’ve given other signals of a progressive mindset towards the potential of psychedelics by amending regulations around access (Canada Amends Special Access to Psychedelics).
Which is why today’s news logs in the positive column: Numinus has just received approval from Health Canada to study Ayahuasca and San Pedro. This expansion of their research license shows that the feds acknowledge the potential of plant medicine, and will support at least its research for now.
See below for the full press release and stay tuned for more on this.
Numinus Adds Ayahuasca & San Pedro to Federal License for Psychedelic Research
Health Canada license renewal expands Numinus’ extensive list of permissible R&D activities
VANCOUVER, BC, March 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ – Numinus Wellness Inc. (“Numinus” or the “Company”) (TSX: NUMI) (OTCQX: NUMIF), a mental healthcare company advancing innovative treatments and safe, evidence-based psychedelic-assisted therapies, is pleased to announce that it has received approval from Health Canada to study Ayahuasca and San Pedro at its licensed, state-of-the-art research facility, Numinus Bioscience. This license expansion will further position Numinus as a recognized global research centre for natural psychedelic medicines, and supplements the current work Numinus is already undertaking on Psilocybe species and inherent synergistic compounds.
Through renewal of its Dealers’ License, Numinus Bioscience is now permitted to work with San Pedro cactus, the beta-carbolines harmaline and harmalol, and the following botanical materials: Banisteriopsis caapi, Psychotria viridis, Diplopterys cabrerana, Mimosa tenuiflora.
The botanical materials are notable for their role as admixtures to Ayahuasca, a psychoactive brew made from multiple plant materials and consumed in Amazonian Indigenous traditional practices for ceremonial, medicinal and spiritual purposes. Harmaline and harmalol naturally occur in B. caapi, while
P. viridis, D. cabrerana and M. tenuiflora contain DMT (N, N-Dimethyltryptamine), a tryptamine that produces psychedelic effects. Research will be done to develop standardized analytical methods for the starting materials, finished Ayahuasca brews, and San Pedro (which contains the psychedelic compound, mescaline).
“There is little industry research currently being done on these botanicals,” said Sharan Sidhu, Science Officer and General Manager, Numinus Bioscience. “This exciting advancement at Numinus broadens our study of naturally occurring ethnobotanical substances and admixtures and the synergies of the compounds. This is a first step in helping us better understand their mechanisms and potential therapeutic applications.”
Since 2020, Numinus Bioscience has significantly amended its license to widen its range of research activities, with prior approvals allowing study of the following: DMT, Ketamine, LSD, MDMA, Mescaline, Psilocin, Psilocybin. Approved activities for these include possession, analytical testing, production, assembly, sale, export and delivery.
“Many naturally occurring psychedelic compounds have already been in traditional use for millennia,” said Payton Nyquvest, CEO and founder, Numinus. “These amendments honour and build on those practices while allowing us to do novel clinical research and deepen the body of scientific data for scaled development and greater public access to much-needed therapies.”
About Numinus
Numinus Wellness helps people to heal and be well through the development and delivery of innovative mental health care and access to safe, evidence-based psychedelic-assisted therapies. The Numinus model – including psychedelic production, research and clinic care – is at the forefront of a transformation aimed at healing rather than managing symptoms for depression, anxiety, trauma, pain and substance use. At Numinus, we are leading the integration of psychedelic-assisted therapies into mainstream clinical practice and building the foundation for a healthier society.
Learn more at numinus.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
