Canadian Patients Demand Access To Psilocybin: Federal Lawsuit, Official Petition & Failing Mechanism

A patient-led lawsuit against the Canadian government is claiming access to therapeutic psilocybin is a constitutional right under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In 2020, Health Canada started granting Section 56 exemptions for psilocybin-assisted therapy under the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA), later adding a legal pathway through an amendment to the Special Access Program (SAP) for patients with a “serious or life-threatening condition.”

Yet this protocol -requesting access via s. 56, SAP, or through a clinical trial with psychedelics- has proven insufficient for those in need: the plaintiffs applied for access to psilocybin, in some cases not obtaining the renewal for their already-approved treatment. Such is the case of Thomas Hartle, a terminal cancer patient who waited 511 days until learning he was denied to continue his psilocybin therapy for anxiety.

What the country's advocate law community is taking as a precedent for the suit is 2000’s R. v. Parker, in which Terry Parker was charged with cannabis-related offenses while using it to control the seizures from his severe epilepsy.

The court finally took on Parker’s argument that cannabis is a “necessary medicine,” and furthermore understood s.56 did not provide sufficient access. Following the court’s order, Canada got its first medical cannabis program.

Other activities are pushing forward as well, such as an official petition to legalize “timely unrestricted access to therapeutic psilocybin” via s. 56 exemptions. The appeal, although not legally binding, would be presented in the House of Commons.

Additional issues concerning psychedelic-assisted therapies are currently going through some hurdles as is the case for therapists’ training. Advocacy organization TheraPsil reported that Health Canada is not approving it and has therefore submitted a judicial review request.

See also: Canada Update: Psychedelics Legal Landscape, Overview & Near-Term Predictions

A recent publication on best practices for clinical trials showed there are still no clear guidelines or care standards for delivering the allowed psychedelic-assisted therapies.

See also: Alberta Becomes First Canadian Province To Regulate Psychedelics-Assisted Therapy

Meanwhile, Dr. Paul Michael Harris was disciplined by the British Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons for prescribing psilocybin and MDMA to an employee as therapy, and has been ordered not to use the psychedelics outside a research setting and to “document all patient-physician encounters and maintain office medical records to the standard expected of physicians in BC.”

Interestingly, as of Jan. 31, 2023, BC began a three-year program to decriminalize the adult possession of up to 2.5 grams of certain drugs including crack, heroin, fentanyl and MDMA for personal use, with the goal of providing better access to treatment and support services as well as reduce stigma around drug use.

Photo: Benzinga edit with photo by Susie Hedberg and C4289N on Shutterstock.