Federal Court ruling sets back health workers seeking psilocybin mushroom access
CTV
Megan McLaren thought her future career was in law enforcement, but her path radically shifted thanks in part to psychedelic drug therapy, she says.
Megan McLaren thought her future career was in law enforcement, but her path radically shifted thanks in part to psychedelic drug therapy, she says.
McLaren left a civilian position with the Vancouver Police Department in 2019 for a job in counselling with the Surrey School District and is now a registered clinical counsellor with a practice in Squamish, B.C.
When the pandemic hit and her position was cut from the school district, she began researching psychedelics, eventually signing up for a three-month group therapy program involving the use of ketamine in mid-2021.
McLaren said she was suffering from depression and grief after the death of her mother, and while she came out of the experience still grieving, she was no longer depressed.
Now, she and dozens of other health care professionals across the country are fighting the federal government in court for legal access to psychedelics, namely psilocybin mushrooms, in order to offer such therapeutic treatments in their practices.
Before they can offer patients these drug-assisted therapies though, doctors, psychologists, counsellors, and nurses want a special exemption from Canada's Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
The exemption would allow them to take magic mushrooms themselves in “experiential training” before they're qualified to offer the treatments to patients.
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