TheraPsil has welcomed the call by Green Party leader Elizabeth May to prioritize research into psilocybin therapy. This is massive news for our advocacy initiatives, and has made our delegation’s recent visit to Parliament Hill a resounding success.
May has urged Health Canada to expand access to medicinal psilocybin before expanding medically assisted dying to those with a mental illness. At a press conference on February 14, May and NDP MP Alistair MacGregor joined a delegation of health-care practitioners and patients calling for the government to advance research into psilocybin therapy for mental illnesses, including severe depression and anxiety experienced by terminally ill patients in end-of-life care.
“The psychiatric profession has been very clear that [MAID] is only for when everything else has been tried,” May told The Hill Times, adding that she would feel more comfortable supporting the expansion if the government was making an accelerated effort to develop alternatives.
“My horror is that we apply [MAID] to people who might recover from deep and chronic depression,” May added. “I want to make sure we’re not making a mistake and turning our back on something because it’s got a reputation as a psychedelic … I think it absolutely must be explored.”
