More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
A doctor and a psychologist say Health Canada's move to allow physicians to request restricted psychedelic drugs for patients as part of their psychotherapy is a positive step toward transforming mental-health care.
But they say the recent change to the Special Access Program isn't enough.
"We still have a huge amount of work to do because these medicines could really, really revolutionize the entire mental health-care field," said Dr. Michael Verbora, who works as a medical director at the Field Trip Health therapy centre in Toronto.
"I don't want to get too far ahead of where the science is ... but I do really, really believe that if people have a process to start their own healing, it can lead to a much better world for most people."
Psychedelic assisted therapy involves ingesting consciousness-altering substances -- including psilocybin, ketamine, LSD or MDMA (the active ingredient in ecstasy) -- in a clinical setting as part of more traditional psychotherapy.
Health Canada has said requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis for a "serious or life-threatening condition" and where other conventional treatments have failed, are unsuitable for the patient or are not available in Canada.
Verbora said the change isn't designed to have a wait list, because it's meant for emergencies. Health Canada has said applications will be processed within two days, but it's unclear when a decision would be made.
What it has done is streamline potential access to restricted drugs, Verbora said.
"Unfortunately, if you have a terminal illness, you don't have much life left in you. You don't have time to apply to the government and wait months to get an exemption."
Edmonton-based psychologist Brian Welling calls the approach "revolutionary."
"This is the greatest leap forward in mental-health care since the invention of psychotherapy," he said.
"I've used psychedelics many, many times. I didn't have a serious or life-threatening condition, but for my own personal problems and part of my own spiritual journey, these experiences have been life-changing.
Verbora, who filed his first application on behalf of a patient this week, said one of the biggest challenges is that more physicians need education on psychedelic therapy.
"The responsibility really falls on the physician to do all the paperwork, which is like to write 100 prescriptions in the time that I do one of these applications,' he said. "Then I'll have to access the drug. I'll have to store the drug. I'll have to educate the patient on the drug."
Ronan Levy, co-founder ofField Trip Health,said most applications except the most severe will probably be rejected.
He said he hopes Health Canada's criteria for approval of psychedelics expand in the future.
The government has said the regulatory amendment does not signal "an intent towards the decriminalization or legalization of restricted drugs."
However, that conversation needs to start, said Verbora.
"We have a long way to go to help the millions of people around the world that unfortunately suffer from mental-health issues and (their) growing burden."
All three men suggest that can happen by removing the stigma around psychedelics.
"When done in the right circumstances, with the proper oversight, with trained clinicians who can support the experience, the outcomes can be fantastic," Levy said.
"That leads to people who have greater emotional resilience, people who are more able to adapt to circumstances like a global pandemic."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2022.
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.
As if a 4-0 Edmonton Oilers lead in Game 1 of their playoff series with the Los Angeles Kings wasn't good enough, what was announced at Rogers Place during the next TV timeout nearly blew the roof off the downtown arena.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”