Is Canada’s psychedelic future secure?
Progress in recent years has been encouraging, but between four-year elections and 24-hour news cycles, the future of legal psychedelic medicine is still very much unknown.
After making great strides with science and research-backed appeals to government and regulatory bodies, compassionate access to psilocybin has been granted to over 50 Canadians. Thus far, access has been primarily granted to people suffering from end-of-life distress. Numinus Health, based in Vancouver, recently announced Phase 1 of a Psilocybin clinical trial on healthy adults.
And yet “section 56 exemptions granted on a case-by-case basis are not a sustainable model to offer healthcare”, notes TheraPsil, a leading Canadian nonprofit in the regulatory fight for compassionate access to psychedelics.
TheraPsil is frustrated that they’ve had to wait over 200 days for a response for some applications, and wish to progress proceedings to a more efficient, provider-and-patient focused model instead of one mired in bureaucracy. Meanwhile, a Health Canada spokesperson says the “development of a medical psilocybin program is not being considered at this time.”
Yet some politicians are waking up to the cause, namely Patty Hadju, Canada’s former Minister of Health, who supported psychedelic medicine (here’s Minister Hajdu showing support for grassroots organizations and substance abuse programs).
Today our gov announced the launch of the $116M national call for proposals for our Substance Use & Addictions Program. The crucial work of reaching people who need support works best when it’s led by grassroots organizations who have built relationships with community members. pic.twitter.com/ZWV012otj3
— Patty Hajdu (@PattyHajdu) July 22, 2021
Hajdu showed that Canadians are receptive to psychedelics, when in 2020 she granted Canada’s first access to psilocybin for psilocybin-assisted therapy since the 70s. A Health Minister is permitted to bypass the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act under Section 56 if it’s “necessary for a medical or scientific purpose” or if they deem it is “otherwise in the public interest”. Currently, psilocybin-assisted therapy is illegal in the majority of jurisdictions.
Patty Hadju was replaced by The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, MP, in Trudeau’s cabinet shuffle. Will Jean-Yves Duclos continue Patty Hadju’s work in allowing special access to psychedelic medicine under section 56? Patty Hadju was open-minded towards psychedelics and encouraged scientific research into their beneficial uses. As former Director of the Department of Economics and a tenured professor at the Université Laval, hopefully Duclos takes the time to belay any doubts as he explores the unprecedented research and results, as well as the moving personal stories in these fields.
Also notable: Canada minted a new role of “Mental Health Minister”, gifted to lifelong politician Carolyn Bennett. Will Canada’s Mental Health Minister be a beacon for Canadians and regulators to accept the clear science showing psychedelics as a promising source of solutions for depression and neurological disorders?
Stories like those of Thomas Hartle, Canada’s first legal recipient of psilocybin under supervision of Dr. Bruce Tobin, are heart-rending:
“I have had anxiety for so long, I had sort of forgotten what it feels like to not have it,” Hartle said.
“To experience the lack of anxiety I have had this week is beyond words. It’s amazing.”
“I would highly recommend that Canadians consider it as an option. The psilocybin, for me, was very gentle and effective. Even if I didn’t have any more effects tomorrow, I would feel very comfortable having another session to boost it back up, and, worst case, that would still be only a single dose once a week — there isn’t any other medication out there that has that sort of efficacy.”
With psychedelic medicines still suffering from the hangover of mistrust and misinformation campaigns foisted upon the public psyche by Nixon’s drug war in the 60s and 70s, leaders must proceed carefully to bring an evolution in policy along with public discourse.
Having allies like Patty Hadju in office is important for the growing acceptance of psychedelics at the official level. They voice the key points of the psychedelic health movement, and help assuage concerns at the highest levels.
Little is certain these days but one hard truth is that psychedelic medicines around the world depend on the cooperation of local and foreign governments.
The best we can do is work with regulators and citizens to keep them educated and informed on psychedelic research and clinical trials so they can make decisions informed not by conjecture, but by scientific research and true stories of human flourishing.