End of the psilocybin ban? Health Canada Receives Proposed Regulations – Latest Cannabis News Today

A British Columbia company is pushing for magic mushroom regulation and recently submitted a proposal to Health Canada. TheraPsil is a non-profit organization that advocates safe access to medicinal mushrooms. They believe that the use of psychedelics should be between a doctor and a patient. Based on the first federal cannabis regulations as a guide, they drafted regulations for medicinal mushrooms. The proposal has been submitted and it is now up to Health Canada to respond. If all goes well, there may be a lot of mushrooms in the future. Here are the details you need to know.

Medicinal mushrooms

The psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms is known as psilocybin and is currently banned in Canada. In 1974 psilocybin was incorporated under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and has remained there ever since. Until recently, the concept of using psychedelics for health seemed too bizarre to be real. It turns out there is something to it and even Health Canada is reviewing the evidence. Research shows that the medicinal uses of psilocybin can be very effective, especially when it comes to relieving neuropathic pain, PTSD, and mental health.

Proposed mushroom regulations

According to Spencer Hawkswell, CEO of TheraPsil, the organization has 165 pages that outline every aspect of the legal use of mushrooms. From licensing growers to packaging and distribution, their proposal covers all the bases. Even if it may seem a bit bold and forward-looking, some mushroom exemptions have already been granted in Canada.

There are currently 64 individual exceptions and many applications have not been processed. Overloaded with the demand for medicinal fungal therapy, Health Canada was open to the draft. When it comes to psilocybin therapy, Health Canada takes a research-based approach and allows data collection exceptions. According to TheraPsil, Canada must move on to the next step as the data is already in place. Now is the time to look into regulation. To aid the process, TheraPsil did the job and now just has to wait for a response.

Health Canada received the proposal but has yet to respond. If accepted and adopted, Canada’s psilocybin ban could soon come to an end.

Footnote (s)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6007659/
https://therapsil.ca/news/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/exemptions-psilocybin-therapy-1.6118296