How to Access Psilocybin Therapy in Canada

 

Access to Psilocybin Therapy in Canada of clinical research suggests that psilocybin can help treat serious mental conditions. However, federal drug policies make it difficult for people to access this treatment. For example, some terminally ill patients have waited over a year for Health Canada to respond to their request to use psilocybin for psychedelic-assisted therapy.

In response, some Canadians have sought out a legal pathway to receive psilocybin through the Special Access Program (SAP). This allows healthcare practitioners to request a controlled substance from Health Canada for individual patients with life-threatening medical conditions and administer it in a therapeutic setting. The majority of these requests are facilitated by the non-profit organizations Roots to Thrive and TheraPsil, which have arranged psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for over 100 individuals since 2020.

This study aims to examine the experiences of those who have received SAP-approval for psilocybin. The researchers collected survey data from participants who have completed a baseline and endpoint assessment. The surveys include demographic information, the form (and strain if possible) of the psilocybin used in the session, dosage, method of administration, and session location. The participants were also asked about their therapist’s credentials and past experience with psilocybin.

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This survey represents the first large-scale examination of the experiences of people with a Section 56 exemption/SAP approval who have received a psilocybin-assisted therapy session in Canada. While the results from this survey suggest that most of these individuals experienced positive outcomes, one participant reported a major worsening in several psychological domains after their session. The researchers recommend that healthcare professionals pursue existing regulatory pathways to obtain a legal source of psilocybin, such as clinical trials or the Special Access Program, before seeking an individual exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.