S. 56 Exemption Requests

S. 56(1) of Canada’s Controlled Drugs and Substances Act reads as follows:

“The Minister may, on any terms and conditions that the Minister considers necessary, exempt from the application of all or any of the provisions of this Act or the regulations any person or class of persons or any controlled substance or precursor or any class of either of them if, in the opinion of the Minister, the exemption is necessary for a medical or scientific purpose or is otherwise in the public interest” (emphasis added).

Submitting an Application Form

To apply for a s. 56 exemption to engage in activities involving controlled psychedelic substances prohibited under the Act, you may fill out one of the government’s standard application forms and submit it to hc.exemption.sc@canada.ca.

Scientific Purpose: To request an exemption for a scientific purpose, you may use this form.

Clinical Study: To request an exemption for a clinical study, you may use this form.

Import: To import a controlled substance for use pursuant to an exemption, you will have to submit this form.

Medical Exemptions

Outside of clinical and scientific studies, very few Canadians have been granted medical exemptions to use controlled psychedelic substances pursuant to s. 56. As such, there does not appear to be a standard application form for those seeking these exemptions.

Most of those who managed to obtain medical exemptions for legal therapeutic psilocybin use did so with the help of Victoria-based non-profit TheraPsil. Persons seeking such exemptions may contact TheraPsil for assistance via this webpage.

Toronto-based law firm Lewin & Segara LLP also assists persons applying for s. 56 exemptions. Below one can view their letter in support of Master Corporal Scott Atkinson’s medical exemption application, and Master Corporal Scott Atkinson’s original application letter:

• Letter to the Minister of Health in Support of Master Corporal Scott Atkinson’s s. 56 Application

• Master Corporal Scott Atkinson’s s. 56 Application

In November 2021, My Community Journeys, a BC-based non-profit multidisciplinary group of healthcare providers, also facilitated (with TheraPsil’s support) several s. 56 exemptions to provide the first legal group psilocybin-assisted therapy session in Canada for nine end-of-life patients.

Applying on Behalf of a Company

If you are acting on behalf of a private company looking to obtain a s. 56 exemption to engage in activities in involving controlled psychedelic substances, it may be advisable for you to partner with a Canadian university.

Canadian universities apparently have unique status in this regard, and do not technically require an exemption to work with controlled substances. They simply require a letter from the university’s dean and permission from Health Canada.

Penny White of Vancouver-based NeonMind Biosciences discusses this on Episode 230 of the Psychedelics Today podcast (start at the 11 minute mark).

You can find more information regarding s. 56 exemption requirements at Health Canada’s official page on s. 56 exemptions here.