Canada's rejection of psilocybin access challenged by more than 100 health-care professionals
Shannon McKenney has had a severe migraine for about 1,500 days in a row.
“I have trouble sleeping and I have trouble staying asleep,” the musician from Burnaby, B.C., said during a recent phone interview while dealing with the same lingering headache that is often accompanied by dizziness and exhaustion.
“In April of 2011, my appendix ruptured, too, and that was life-changing. I have survived sepsis four times.
“I used to live my life with tons of energy and now I'm like an old cellphone that doesn't quite work right and doesn't charge properly.”
McKenney's story is one of several included in a request for a judicial review submitted Monday in Federal Court on behalf of more than 100 health-care professionals across the country, including doctors, psychologists, clinical counsellors, social workers and nurses. They are challenging the federal health minister's decision last month to reject their application to use restricted psychedelic drugs to train in psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy.
That therapy involves ingesting consciousness-altering substances like psilocybin, an active ingredient in magic mushrooms, in a clinical setting as part of more traditional psychotherapy. Other drugs could include ketamine, LSD or MDMA, the active ingredient in ecstasy.
The federal government had signalled earlier this year that it would refuse the applications, said Nicholas Pope, a lawyer representing TheraPsil, an advocacy group that operates the training program in which the health-care practitioners are enrolled.
Pope said at the time the only reason cited was that those professionals could access an existing clinical trial instead. Then in June, when the application was officially denied, Ottawa suggested they could run their own trial.
“So in our submissions, we said that's not going to work for a number of reasons,” said Pope.
A major one is that existing trials are costly, and they don't work for many of the professionals he's representing because of timing and location.
“You can't just throw together the clinical trial in a few days,” Pope said.
“Many patients on waiting lists have suicidal ideation because of their depression and many of them have end-of-life distress, have terminal cancer and could die soon.”
McKenney said she tried to participate in an existing trial as a patient but it was too costly for her as well.
“Being on disability, I can't afford $6,000 for three rounds of therapy,” she said.
Pope said some professionals also don't want to participate in existing trials because they are meant for research of psilocybin.
“That can interfere with training because the primary goal of a clinical trial is not the training, it's gathering information. And there's no uncertainty in the expert community about safety of psilocybin in healthy adults.”
In 2020, Health Canada started granting exemptions under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Actto provide psychedelics treatment to patients suffering from end-of-life psychological distress, treatment-resistant depression and major depressive disorder.
Documents submitted in court show hundreds of Canadians inquire about it every year, but Pope said there aren't enough professionals in Canada to provide the treatment. Some asked for the substances to treat their anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder or other illnesses.
“In Manitoba, there are no fully trained and qualified health-care practitioners, but there are 10 patients on TheraPsil's wait-list,” said a summary of the application.
“Two Manitoba health-care practitioners requested exemptions. If these two exemptions were approved, patients who otherwise have no qualified health-care practitioners within thousands of kilometres could gain access to psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy.”
McKenney said if she wanted to, she could get the drugs from other channels. But she's reluctant because she has a mental illness.
“If I were to do too much or have a bad trip, sometimes there's no coming back fromthat. If I'm going to do it, I want to regulate it and I want it monitored just for safety's sake.”
Pope said in the request for a judicial review that he also wants the federal government to acknowledge patients' rights to life, liberty and security are being infringed upon.
A spokesperson for Health Canada said in a email that it is deeply concerned about the burden of mental illness on Canadians.
“Health Canada is aware that psilocybin is being studied by researchers in Canada and internationally for its potential to treat various conditions, including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and various substance use disorders,” said Marie-Pier Burelle.
“Each request for an exemption ... is reviewed on a case-by-case basis, taking into account all relevant considerations, including evidence of potential benefits and risks or harms to Canadians.”
McKenney said if more professionals were trained, and she had easier access to psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy, her life would change.
“I'm 10 years into being relatively disabled. If I can get even a tenth of my former life back, that would be something.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 11, 2022.
---
This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Couple randomly attacked, 1 stabbed, by group of teens in Toronto, police say
A man has been transported to hospital after police say he was stabbed in a random attack carried out by a group of teens in Toronto on Friday night.
Ron Ellis, who played over 1,000 games with Maple Leafs, dead at 79
Ron Ellis, who played over 1,000 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and was a member of Canada's team at the 1972 Summit Series, has died at age 79.
Fort Nelson, B.C., wildfire doubles in size as 3,000-plus ordered to evacuate
The wildfire that sparked Friday and caused evacuation orders for more than 3,000 people in Fort Nelson, B.C., and the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has grown to nearly 1,700 hectares in size, according to a Saturday morning update from the BC Wildfire Service.
Eurovision Song Contest final kicks off after protests, backstage chaos and a contestant's expulsion
The final of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest kicked off Saturday in the Swedish city of Malmo after days of protests and offstage drama that have tipped the feelgood musical celebration into a chaotic pressure cooker overshadowed by the war in Gaza.
IN PICTURES Northern lights dance across the night sky in southern Ont.
From London, to Grand Bend, Collingwood and Guelph, here are some highlights of Friday night and Saturday morning's northern lights display.
Haitians demand the resignation and arrest of the country's police chief after a new gang attack
A growing number of civilians and police officers are demanding the dismissal and arrest of Haiti's police chief as heavily armed gangs launched a new attack in the capital of Port-au-Prince, seizing control of yet another police station early Saturday.
opinion How to use your credit card as a powerful wealth-building tool
Irresponsibly using a credit card can land you in financial trouble, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says when used properly, it can be a powerful wealth-building tool that can help grow your credit profile and create new opportunities.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
'I am angry': Alberta farmers will continue fight over world class motorsport resort
The rolling hills leading to the hamlet of Rosebud are dotted with sprawling farms and cattle pastures -- and a sign sporting a simple message: No Race Track.