Therapists Are Fighting for Psilocybin Mushroom Legalization in Canada

A Canadian psychotherapist has launched an advocacy group that will fight to convince health officials to recognize the potential of psilocybin-assisted therapy.

Three years ago, psychotherapist and University of Victoria professor Bruce Tobin submitted multiple applications to Health Canada asking for permission to study how psilocybin could help treat terminally ill patients suffering from “end of life distress.” In a recent interview, Tobin described this condition as a “nasty combination of anxiety, depression, hopelessness, and demoralization that often accompanies the diagnosis of a terminal illness, such as cancer. My desire is to get the treatment to patients who are in need of it right now.”

Although magic mushrooms are completely illegal in Canada, Tobin has personally witnessed patients who have successfully used this natural entheogen as an adjunct to therapy. “We can see the results in many cases very quickly, as quickly as the next day,” Tobin explained Approximately 3,000 Canadians suffer from end of life distress every year, and each of them could potentially benefit from this groundbreaking treatment.

“I think we are entering a new era in the treatment of mental health conditions,” said Tobin. “Psilocybin and these compounds have mechanisms unlike anything we have seen within our normal treatment options within psychiatry. The potential… to have efficacy across a range of conditions is absolutely remarkable. We just don’t understand the mechanisms of them yet.”

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Samantha Day

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