Not-for-Profit Organization Urges Health Canada to End Psilocybin Mushroom Prohibition

TheraPsil is urging Health Canada to end the five-decade prohibition against the possession of psilocybin mushrooms and the psychedelics these entheogenic fungi produce. The not-for-profit organization, which advocates for the therapeutic use of psilocybin, has spent months drawing up proposed legalization measures for these mushrooms based on the same regulations the federal government created for medical marijuana two decades ago.

Spencer Hawkswell, CEO of the British, Columbia-based organization stated that TheraPsil had sent a proposal to Jennifer Saxe, who is the director general of Health Canada. In his statement, Hawkswell revealed that the 165-page document focused on managing every aspect of licensing sellers and growers, packaging, security, quality control and, where those involved can be located and even, who can be involved. The document also included provisions for patients to register to cultivate their own mushrooms as well as a formula to help calculate how much a person would be allowed to cultivate. The formula is based on the mycelium amount.

Psilocybin has been illegal in Canada since 1975 and is prohibited under the Controlled Drug and Substances Act. Despite that status, studies have found that psilocybin has shown potential for treating addiction to substances such as cocaine, alcoholism or smoking. In addition, psilocybin has also shown promise in the treatment of death anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder and even Alzheimer’s.

Last year, the Canadian health minister used her authority to grant legal exemptions to individuals with treatment-resistant depression and those with terminal illnesses. Thus far, more than 60 therapists and patients have been granted legal exemptions by Health Canada, all of which are valid for 12 months.

TheraPsil isn’t the only organization proposing regulations to make the use and possession of psilocybin and psilocybin mushrooms legal. The Canadian Psychedelic Association and the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies are also drawing up their own regulatory blueprints for consideration. In addition, Jim Doswell, a post-traumatic stress disorder patient who has applied for a ministerial exemption to use psilocybin as part of his therapy, provided TheraPsil with insights into the regulatory process as it drafted its proposal.

The director general of Health Canada and the department itself haven’t made any comments on these proceedings. At the moment, Health Canada’s official stance is to endorse clinical trials as a way to learn more about the potential benefits and risks of psilocybin. However, advocates note that a lot of scientific studies on the substance have been done and calling for regulation is justified.

This call to change the legality of the substance is given further credence by the fact that several Canada-based psychedelics companies, including Cybin Inc. (NEO: CYBN) (NYSE American: CYBN), have made notable strides in developing therapeutic formulations from these substances.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Cybin Inc. (NEO: CYBN) (NYSE American: CYBN) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/CYBN

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