Canada Approves Psychedelic Mushrooms for End-of-Life Therapy

Psilocybin, the main component of psychedelic mushrooms, is gaining recognition all around the world for its medicinal and therapeutic properties. Once considered a recreational drug or used as part of shamanic rituals (dating back as far as 3500 BC), the compound is being explored to treat conditions such as PTSD, anxiety, end-of-life stress and other mental health issues. 

Canada’s Breakthrough Decision 

In the most recent example, four terminally ill patients in Canada were granted the legal right to use psychedelic mushrooms in order to help ease end-of-life anxiety. 

The decision came from Canada’s Minister of Health, Patty Hajdu. The ruling to allow the patients to use psilocybin therapy is the first of its kind in the nation since 1974, at which point the use of “magic” mushrooms was made illegal with the Canadian Drugs and Substances Act. 

Canada’s current law forbids the possession, production or sale of anything containing psilocybin, unless it has been authorized for clinical trials or research. 

“This is the positive result that is possible when good people show genuine compassion. I’m so grateful that I can move forward with the next step of healing,” one patient said. 

Promising Research Using Psilocybin for End of Life

The basis of decisions like the one in Canada stems from ongoing research on psilocybin, which has been extremely promising. Besides academia, interest has been expressed by policy makers and governments. 

In September 2019, the first psychedelic research center was launched in the United States at Johns Hopkins University. The project’s budget is an impressive $17 million, and the research focuses on the potential use of psychedelics to treat conditions such as opioid abuse, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, PTSD and anxiety. 

Researchers at NYU Langone Health also published a promising study earlier in the year that involved 29 patients with cancer-related anxiety and depression. It found that a single dose of psilocybin, in combination with psychotherapy, reduced depression, anxiety and existential distress while improving attitudes toward death among 60–80% of the patients.

The study also found that 15 of the patients showed long-term improvements around three to five years later, and 70% of them said that the positive life changes were due to the therapy.

For one of the participants, it was among “the most personally meaningful and spiritually significant experiences of their lives,” according to the study. 

These are just a few of the promising studies and initiatives surrounding the use of psilocybin for end-of-life therapy, which will undoubtedly increase in scope as more promising results are achieved. The potential benefit of psychedelic mushrooms for mental health issues like anxiety and depression cannot be understated, especially as we become increasingly aware of some of the major downsides of other types of highly prescribed medications, such as opioids.