End of Psilocybin Prohibition? Health Canada receives proposed regulations

A BC company is pushing to regulate magic mushrooms and recently submitted a proposal to Health Canada. TheraPsil is a non-profit organization that advocates for safe access to medicinal mushrooms. They believe that the use of psychedelics should be between a doctor and a patient. Using the first federal cannabis regulations as a guide, they drafted regulations for medicinal mushrooms. The proposal to end psilocybin prohibition has been submitted and now it’s up to Health Canada to respond. If all goes well, there may be lots of fungi in the future. Here are the details that you need to know.

Medical Mushrooms

The psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms is known as psilocybin and it’s currently banned in Canada. In 1974, psilocybin was scheduled under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and has remained there ever since. Up until recently, the concept of using psychedelics for health seemed too bizarre to be real. It turns out that there’s something to it and even Health Canada is looking at the evidence. The research is showing that the medicinal use of psilocybin can be quite effective, especially when it comes to relief from neuropathic pain, PTSD, and mental health. 

Proposed Mushroom Regulations

According to TheraPsil CEO Spencer Hawkswell, the organization drafted 165 pages, outlining every aspect of legal mushroom use. From licensing growers to packaging and distribution, their proposal covers all the bases. While it may seem a little brazen and forward, individual mushroom exemptions have already been granted in Canada. 

Currently, there are sixty-four individual exemptions and many applications have been left unprocessed. Overloaded with the demand for medical mushroom therapy, Health Canada was open to receiving the draft. When it comes to psilocybin therapy, Health Canada takes a research-based approach, granting exemptions to gather data. According to TheraPsil, Canada needs to move on to the next step because the data is already there. It’s now time to look at creating regulations. In order to help the process along, TheraPsil did the work and now just has to wait for an answer.

Health Canada has received the proposal but has yet to respond to it. If it’s accepted and adopted, the Canadian prohibition on psilocybin may soon come to an end.