A Conservative MP has introduced a bill that would allow physicians to more easily prescribe magic mushrooms to treat mental health and addiction issues. Saskatoon-University MP Corey Tochor introduced Thomas’ Bill in the House of Commons on Tuesday. Magic mushrooms contain hallucinogens like psilocybin and psilocin, which are illegal unless authorized by Health Canada. If passed, Tochor’s bill would allow proponents of psilocybin molecules to access priority review, meaning a decision on the substance would be made within 180 days. Tochor says Thomas’ Bill is named after a constituent of his who suffered from anxiety after being diagnosed with stage four cancer. “His physician couldn’t treat his cancer because his mind was everywhere else,” Tochor told media Tuesday. “His physician prescribed psilocybin counseling – which is the active ingredient in magic mushrooms – and with that counseling it calmed his anxiety, so that his body could fight cancer.” Tochor says Thomas was feeling more like himself thanks to three years of psilocybin treatment until he was cut off by the government. Under current regulations, doctors can only legally prescribe psilocybin counselling with approval from Health Canada’s Special Access Program. “Unfortunately, those same bureaucrats that aren’t doctors at the three-year mark cut him off of his legal supply, and he had to travel to the Caribbean three times a year for his counseling, and that’s when he reached out to me,” Tochor said. Speaking alongside Tochor was Kamaya Lawrence, a clinical researcher with a master’s in neuroscience. Lawrence strongly urged the house to pass the legislation. “My work has brought me close to people living with chronic illness – people who are brave, exhausted, and living in the space between what medicine can do and what they still need,” she said. “That proximity is why I’m here today. The people that this bill is designed to protect are not people waiting for better quality of life, these are often people that are waiting for the end of their lives, and far too often they’re waiting in the grip of depression, anxiety, and an existential dread that our current pharmacological toolkit was not designed to treat.” Lawrence said conventional antidepressants can take four to six weeks to take effect – a timeframe that can rob terminal patients of the chance to find peace. Lawrence cited a 2016 double-blind study of cancer patients in which 80 per cent of participants showed clinically significant decreases in depressed mood and anxiety after receiving psilocybin. She added that 80 per cent of participants within the study also reported increased well-being and life satisfaction. “The evidence is replicated, it is peer-reviewed, and is published in the most rigorous clinical academic journals in the world, pointing consistently towards dignity, towards relief, and towards autonomy and choice in palliative care,” Lawrence said. “What remains is legislation that matches the courage and the compassion the science has already demonstrated.” Tochor said psilocybin treatment would be especially helpful in light of the upcoming expansion of medical assistance in dying (MAID), which has been met with strong opposition, including from the Conservative Party. “It’s going to be expanded to people that have mental health issues, and I think it’s wrong that we are, right now, as a state helping patients end their life, but they are not granted access to a plant that is non-toxic, non-addictive, and that has the science behind it that shows that is effective treatment for mental health, addiction, and [PTSD],” Tochor said. Josh Veinotte is a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) who developed post-traumatic stress disorder in 2006 following his first combat tour in Afghanistan. Veinotte says he took prescribed medication and went to therapy but nothing seemed to work, eventually releasing from the CAF in 2016. After nearly five years of continuing to try to manage his PTSD, Veinotte says he decided to engage in psilocybin-assisted therapy following conversations with clinicians and extensive research. “For the fist time in nearly 15 years, I felt peace,” he told media. “I was able to finally integrate and solidify everything I’d learned through the years of psychotherapy. It didn’t erase my trauma, it changed my relationship with it. But the real value is not in the medicine alone. The preparation therapy beforehand and the support during and after treatment are equally important.” Veinotte added that it was also important to work with trained professionals and receive support during and after treatment.
