A large leap forward for compassionate care using psilocybin therapy.
Four Canadians facing incurable illnesses can now legally consume magic mushrooms to begin healing from the crushing anxiety brought on by end-of-life fears. Canada’s Minister of Health, Patty Hajdu, this week granted the four individuals the right to use psilocybin therapy to treat end-of-life distress. The compassionate ruling is the first of its kind in Canada since 1974 when magic mushrooms — which contain the psychoactive substance psilocybin — were made illegal along with the creation of the Canadian Drugs and Substances Act. According to Health Canada’s website, currently possessing, producing, or selling anything including psilocybin is illegal unless authorized for clinical trials or research purposes. The recent landmark decision by the Canadian Minister of Health is part of a larger movement across the world that’s seeing psilocybin-assisted therapy used as an effective treatment for ailments like depression, addiction, and anxiety. Rigorous studies at Imperial College London and Johns Hopkins University in the U. S. are showing great promise with psychedelic-assisted therapy for emotional traumas — including with patients facing debilitating worries from terminal diagnoses. The effort in Canada was led by Dr.
