Amendments To Canada's Special Access Program (SAP) Allows Access To Restricted Psychedelic Drugs. How Will This Affect The Industry?

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Mental health professionals have been exploring psychedelics as a treatment for substance abuse and mental health disorders for decades, and now its status as a legitimate treatment is being recognized in Canada.

An amendment to Canada’s Special Access Program (SAP) allows access to restricted psychedelic drugs like psilocybin, MDMA, LSD, and DMT for patients with a “serious or life-threatening condition” where conventional treatments have failed.

While the amendment is considered by some to be a step forward, the government has said it doesn’t mean psychedelics are headed toward decriminalization or legalization. The vague language also means that many patients in need may not qualify for special access.

One company that is examining psychedelics in the treatment of mental health disorders is MINDCURE Mental Health Inc. MCUR, a life sciences company focused on innovating and commercializing new ways to promote healing and improve mental health.

The company is developing digital therapeutics technology and researching psychedelic compounds to support safe, evidence-based psychedelic-assisted therapies. Patients participating in psychedelic-assisted therapy ingest consciousness-altering substances such as psilocybin or LSD in a clinical setting.

Large pharmaceutical brands such as Pfizer Inc. PFE, Merck & Co. Inc. MRK, and Bristol Myers Squibb BMY are involved in mental health treatments, and some smaller players like MINDCURE  are focused on a handful of disorders.

Potential of Psychedelics?

MINDCURE is working on a few projects involving psychedelics: The Desire Project and The Ibogaine Project.

The Desire Project examines the use of MDMA to treat Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD), a female sexual disorder characterized by persistent low sexual desire and emotional distress that are not a result of an existing medical condition or relationship issue.

Current drugs reportedly offer only mild, temporary solutions without solving the problem. MINDCURE hopes to develop a solution using pharmaceutical MDMA and psychotherapy to treat HSDD.

“MDMA has enormous potential beyond PTSD, and we hope to create a care paradigm whereby MDMA-assisted psychotherapy becomes common practice for women suffering from decreased desire,” MINDCURE Founder and CEO Kelsey Ramsden said on the company’s website. “The empathogenic nature of the psychedelic allows for a healing experience in women, whose access to desire may be more rooted in the mind than body.”

The goal of The Ibogaine Project is to create an opportunity for psychedelic researchers to study the benefits of the substance by manufacturing a synthetic version that can be used in a clinical setting. Ibogaine shows potential as an effective treatment for addiction, anxiety, depression, migraines, and neuropathic pain.

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