Petition started to legalize mushroom-assisted therapy in Canada

Proponents of the medicinal use of psilocybin mushrooms in Canada have started a petition to urge the federal government to act. Interest in psilocybin-assisted therapy continues to grow to combat end-of-life anxiety, depression, addition, and PTSD, among many other conditions.

Petition e-4334 was launched on March 16 – an online “petition to the Canadian government” that by law must be submitted to the House of Commons if it meets certain conditions, Microdose reports. For example, petitions must be certified by the Petitions Secretary in order to be presented to the House. They must also be signed by at least 500 Canadian residents and approved by a Member of Parliament.

Proponents want to give the green light to therapeutic psilocybin in any form, listing several specific conditions that can be improved.

“We, the undersigned, compassionate Canadians, call upon the Government of Canada to provide timely unrestricted access to Canadians to therapeutic psilocybin in any form necessary to alleviate their suffering via Section 56 exceptions,” the petition reads.

The petition lists three reasons why psilocybin-assisted therapy should be legalized, including the mushroom’s low potential for harm:

• There is strong medical evidence that accessing psychedelics-assisted therapy can effectively treat existential distress in dying, depression, anxiety, addiction, PTSD and other mental illnesses and improve quality of life.
• Psilocybin, which is required for psilocybin-assisted therapy, is currently only available in clinical trials and with special individual approval from Health Canada, despite its low potential for harm; And
• It is paradoxical and unethical to allow doctors to provide MAID to their patients while preventing those same doctors from treating their end-of-life conditions with psilocybin.

To sign the petition, signers must be Canadian citizens or residents.

Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy in Canada

Meanwhile, a particular case draws attention to the problem of psilocybin-assisted therapy.

Thomas Hartle of Saskatoon was the first person in Canada to undergo a legal psychedelics-assisted therapy session to treat their fear of end-of-life. A year later, however, his Health Canada approval expired in October 2021 and he had to reapply.

Thomas waited over 500 days for approval, but his waiver to continue using psilocybin for medicinal purposes was denied by Secretary of State Carolyn Bennett. Health Canada denied Hartle permission to continue psilocybin-assisted therapy, drawing much attention and criticism from the psychedelic community. Hartle believes Health Canada and the health ministers are just waiting for him to die.

Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy is the only thing that has helped him cope with his fear of ending his life, and he says he needs safe, legal access to it.

It’s stories like Hartle’s that fuel efforts to legalize psilocybin-assisted therapy in Canada.

Research on the potential benefits of psilocybin continues to evolve. North America’s first take-out psilocybin study has been approved in Canada. A pharmaceutical company called Apex Labs announced on November 1, 2022 that it will conduct the first take-home clinical trial of psilocybin in North America. Apex Labs is a patient-centric pharmaceutical company specializing in psilocybin treatments for military veterans.

Apex Labs will initiate a study evaluating the effectiveness of APEX-52 (psilocybin) in veterans suffering from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Apex Labs received a letter of no objection from Health Canada on October 24, 2022.

Dispensaries have sprung up in Canada offering psilocybin. Two men were arrested and mushrooms were confiscated following a raid on a psilocybin mushroom dispensary in west Toronto last November.

The push to legalize psilocybin-assisted therapy in Canada and research its benefits continues.