Psyched: CA's Psychedelic-Assisted Treatments, Ketamine Therapy, Near-Death Experience And More

Alberta Becomes The First Canadian Province To Regulate Psychedelics-Assisted Therapy

As of January 2023, Canada’s 4th largest province will be the first to offer supervised treatments involving psychedelic substances such as psilocybin, MDMA, LSD, mescaline, DMT and ketamine to those among its 4.5 million population suffering from mental health disorders.

The decision was taken and announced by the Alberta province on October 5. The new amendments to the Mental Health Services Protection Act will also allow the prescription of certain opioids -hydromorphone, diacetylmorphine (heroin) and fentanyl- to patients with severe opioid addiction for whom conventional agonist therapy has shown to be unsuccessful, though its ultimate goal is to help patients progress to opioid agonist therapy (OAT) medication like suboxone, sublocade or methadone.

The new scheme will inhibit pharmacists and dispensers to provide high-potency opioids for addiction treatment and will make drug administration possible only under medical supervision at a licensed clinic, except for doctors prescribing the pharma for pain treatment.

The psychedelic drugs new regulations will take a different turn depending on the level of risk each involves, which is yet to be discussed. Although ketamine is the only lawful psychedelic in the country at the moment, physicians and researchers can apply through Health Canada’s Special Access Program (SAP) to utilize them in clinical trials or for certain therapeutic cases. 

The new legislation would make the service regulated and qualified professionals will be invited to apply for a license to deliver the treatment, which in turn must be supervised by a psychiatrist and take place at a medical facility. Importantly, health providers will not be allowed to charge for the drugs provided.

Ketamine Therapy At Your Doorstep: A Growing Number Of Clinics Now Offer This Treatment Option

Being the only psychedelic to be legally available as medicine, ketamine-assisted therapy services are expanding at a rapid pace across the U.S. 

Recent news, includes the incorporation of a Western ketamine infusion clinic into a renowned network of clinics providing psychedelic-assisted therapy, new ketamine therapy options to expand treatment availability in view of the East Coast therapist shortage and a management agreement between two ketamine therapy providers on the West Coast.

Main leaders in this area include Irwin Naturals IWINF, Braxia Scientific BRAXF, and Wellbeing Digital Sciences Inc. KONEF 

A New Study Compares Near-Death Experiences & Psychedelics: How They Influence Life And Death Perspectives

Individuals who have had near-death experiences often speak of the enduring transformation they underwent. Those who embark on psychedelic journeys often allude to mystical experiences, the death of ego, a sense of oneness with creation, and how the experience changed their perspective on life and death.

Are psychedelic experiences similar to near-death experiences? If so, in what ways? And to what degree can each type of experience influence the individual’s perspective on life and death in the days, weeks and months afterward?

A research team from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine recently released their findings from a study comparing how psychedelic, near-death and non-ordinary experiences impact peoples’ beliefs about death.

The study was based on findings from a survey of 3192 people comprising five groups: a non-drug near-death or other non-ordinary experience group, an LSD group, a psilocybin group, an ayahuasca group and a DMT group. Participants in the survey answered a range of questions that probed aspects of their experience, including their understanding of death: sensory abilities and awareness during the experience; whether they encountered mystical beings or deceased relatives, and the personal meaningfulness of the experience. 

The results offered some compelling insights into the similarities and differences between psychedelic, non-ordinary and near-death experiences.

Overall, the research findings offer valuable insights into the profound perspective shifts that near-death, non-ordinary, and psychedelic experiences can occasion. While there are subtle differences that distinguish the experiences, the prevailing truth is that all can produce beneficial, enduring changes in attitudes about death in general, the death of the self, and the death of others. What’s more, these experiences appear to count among the most meaningful of a person’s life.

The Milestone Round

Each week, we learn about new clinical trials, the creation of psychedelic-based compounds and novel potential treatments for those suffering from mental and physical health conditions.

As for psychoactive mushrooms, a novel psilocybin teabags product is now ready for use in clinical trials, a farm purchase has been settled to advance magic truffle production and seed funding was achieved by Jamaican and Dutch psychedelic retreats. 

On ketamine: a psychedelics company received a USPTO patent for the treatment of motor disorders potentially including Parkinson’s.  

Regarding R&D, atai ATAI started the dosing stage in its Phase 1 clinical trial for a new DMT-based drug for treatment-resistant depression; MindMed’s MNMD Swiss collaborator is beginning a Phase 1 clinical trial comparing the effects of MDMA’s key components, and Mindset Pharma MSSTF advanced regulations for its next-generation psychedelics.

Weekly extras include varied issues ranging from New York’s ongoing struggle for psychedelics legalization, a $1 Million federal grant by the Department of Justice to organizations tackling the issues of teen mental health and school violence, and a version of The Simpsons on a mushroom trip NFT created with AI. 

Psychedelics EFTs Weekly Performance

This is how the sector’s major EFTS performed in the week spanning October 3 to 7.

• AdvisorShares Psychedelics PSIL closed Friday 30 at $2.82 and began the week slightly lower at $2.75 on Monday. The week’s highest was achieved on Thursday 6, reaching $3.17 per share, but then falling to its current $2.90.
  The highest was $6.04 on the first day of January and consistently dropped, though oscillating somewhat between $3.19 and $2.67 between September 16-October 7.  

The Elemental Advisors PSYK EFT PSYK opened at $18.91 on Monday, October 3 after the prior week when it closed at $18.76. Last week, stocks moved in a slight upward trend to $19.28 on October 6.
For this EFT, the yearly price range has been between $23.32 and $16.71.