Canada Approves Psilocybin Use For Professionals In Training

The Canadian Health Minister Patty Hajdu has allowed 17 healthcare professionals to possess and use psilocybin to conduct professional training in psilocybin therapy.

The decision, announced Tuesday, marks the latest step in Canada’s path towards the legalization of psilocybin, a psychedelic drug originally found in so-called “magic mushrooms.”

Since August 2020, Canada’s Health Minister has granted 14 exemptions to access psilocybin therapy, mainly for patients dealing with end-of-life distress.

An Important Acknowledgement: This comes as an official concession of the need to have psilocybin therapy delivered by health professionals who have a first-hand understanding of the drug’s effects.

“Health Canada now rightfully acknowledges that clinician experience with psychedelic medicines is an important part of their training. Therapists having psychedelic experience are able to more deeply empathize with patients and understand their experience,” said Bruce Tobin, founder and Board Chair of TheraPsil, a nonprofit working for patient access to psilocybin in Canada.

The NGO has developed a training program for professionals that uses lectures, case studies, readings, and discussions as well as ‘experiential learning’, meaning that professionals in training take psilocybin mushrooms themselves in order to become familiar with the non-ordinary state of consciousness produced by the drug.

“Realms of the unconscious revealed by psychedelic medicines are unusual, to say the least, and a deep familiarity with them is a prerequisite for a psychedelic guide,” said Dr. Sean O’Sullivan, TheraPsil’s Medical Director.

TheraPsil announced an ongoing fundraising meant to support the development of its training program for professionals as well as to allow psilocybin access to patients dealing with end-of-life distress.

Photo by Tania Malréchauffé on Unsplash