Originally posted on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/harrisonjordan_there-is-almost-no-legal-way-for-a-person-activity-7142846033205637120-2gfJ?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
There is almost no legal way for a person to obtain psilocybin and consume it without being in the presence of their physician or their agent (such as a psychotherapist).
And that needs to change.
First, we should be thankful we live in a country where there is some legal access to psilocybin, even if it is far short of what should be available.
“Restricted drugs” such as psilocybin and MDMA, are regulated by Part J of the Food and Drugs Act, and were added back to the list of drugs that doctors can seek authorization from the federal government to obtain on an emergency basis in 2022, through a program called the Special Access Program (SAP). The SAP also allows doctors to get authorization to obtain other drugs (psychoactive or otherwise) that are only produced in other countries, on an emergency basis on a patient by patient basis.
That was coupled with an order from the federal minister of Health exempting doctors, their agents, pharmacists, hospital employees and licensed dealers from possession and distribution penalties in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act if done in accordance with such a situation if it involves psilocycbin or MDMA, also called a Section 56 exemption.
But the Section 56 exemption did not apply to patients — it did not exempt patients from any of the prohibitions in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
And this was done for a reason.
While doctors and their agents can administer psilocybin under the exemption, patients can not possess it.
This is in contrast to practically any other drug available through the SAP that are not Part J restricted drugs.
And clinical trials, which also must obtain an exemption from the CDSA, have only generally been approved for studies in which psilocybin is administered in the presence of clinical trial staff.
The only study I am aware of that has obtained permission to distribute take-home psilocybin to its participants is a micro-dosing study by Apex Labs.
Health Canada used to issue section 56 exemptions to particular patients who could demonstrate (to HC’s standards) that they need access to psilocybin for medical purposes, and with those exemptions there were no restrictions on where the psilocybin could be possessed or consumed. But those exemptions have largely stopped being issued, with Health Canada pointing to the availability of clinical trials and the SAP program.
So, like it or not, psilocybin has to be taken in the presence of your physician or their agent, such as a psychotherapy. And any benefits one might receive from taking psychoactive doses of psilocybin alone, won’t be able to be (legally) realized. For now.
