Canadian Psychedelic Law News
This page will be updated on a regular basis to keep up with developments as they occur. You can also sign up for the Green Economy Law Monthly Newsletter, which features a ‘Psychedelic Update’ section covering new developments in psychedelic law.
2023
December 2023: Several individuals associated with the Fun Guyz mushroom dispensary chain filed a Notice of Constitutional Question challenging charges associated with possession of psilocybin for the purpose of trafficking. They argue that the federal prohibition of psilocybin violates their constitutional right to freedom of thought as protected under s. 2 of the Charter.
November 2023: Canada’s Senate published a report entitled The Time is Now: Granting Equitable Access to Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies. The report recognizes that psychedelic-assisted therapies involving psilocybin and MDMA clearly show potential for treating PTSD and other mental health issues veterans face, for which there are currently too few good treatment options. It urges Veterans Affairs Canada to more proactively investigate the efficacy of such treatments for veterans.
September 2023: A lawsuit filed on behalf of numerous health care practitioners seeking a Charter right to use psilocybin for training purposes by means of s. 56 exemptions was dismissed (see Toth v. Minister of Health).
January 2023:
Alberta’s psychedelic-assisted therapy regulations went into effect on January 16, 2023. The full text of the regulations can be found here. Learn more about the relationship between federal and provincial regulations of psychedelics here.
Pursuant to a section 56 exemption granted by Health Canada, personal possession of up to 2.5 grams of opioids (such as heroin, morphine, and fentanyl), cocaine, methamphetamines, and MDMA (ecstasy) was decriminalized in British Columbia on January 31st, 2023. The exemption will last until January 31st, 2026 (at which point it may be extended), and does not legalize distribution (sale), cultivation, import, or export of the aforementioned substances, all of which remain illegal. Learn more here.
2022
December 2022: Dr. Houman Farzin and Dr. Jean-François Stephan successfully billed for and were paid by the province of Quebec for psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy treatment provided pursuant a federal s. 56 exemption. This marked the first instance of a Canadian governing medical body publicly funding psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy outside of a clinical study.
October 2022: Alberta announced it will introduce regulations for the provision of psychedelic-assisted therapy. It is the first province in Canada to do so. The regulations come into effect on January 16, 2023, and will require, among other things, that:
Clinics providing psychedelic-assisted treatment be licensed under the Mental Health Services Protection Act and appoint a psychiatrist to serve as medical director;
A psychiatrist (or appropriately trained physician in consultation with a psychiatrist) can prescribe psychedelic drugs used in treatment; and
Patients undergoing psychedelic treatments must be monitored by health professionals during treatment sessions.
The regulations do not legalize psychedelic-assisted therapy in Alberta, as use of controlled substances is largely under federal jurisdiction, but will apply where such treatment is federally-permitted (see Special Access Program Requests).
July 2022: A group of patients suffering from cluster headaches, opioid use disorder, and terminal cancer filed a claim against the federal government of Canada, alleging that constitutional law demands greater ease of access to psilocybin-assisted therapy for those who may substantially benefit from therapeutic use. We’ve provided a more detailed explanation of the lawsuit here (also see Charter Implications (Medical Use)).
May 2022: In response to the British Columbia government’s request for broad drug possession decriminalization in the province by means of a s. 56 exemption from Health Canada, the federal government agreed to grant a limited (albeit still unprecedented) exemption that will decriminalize personal possession of up to 2.5 grams of opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine, and MDMA in the province. The term of the exemption will begin on January 31, 2023 and run until January 31, 2026. The exemption will not decriminalize sale or production of the enumerated substances.
March 2022: Though the Special Access Program regulatory amendments which took effect in January were expected to make psychedelic-assisted therapy more accessible, early applications were uniformly rejected by Health Canada. This caused considerable frustration in the Canadian psychedelic community, as it ran counter to expectations. However, on March 21st, Health Canada granted six patients’ SAP requests for psilocybin-assisted therapy. These appear to be the first successful SAP applications for psychedelic-assisted therapy in Canada.
January 2022: On January 5th, Health Canada amended regulations under the Food and Drugs Act applicable to the Special Access Program. The amended regulations will allow healthcare practitioners to request access to “restricted drugs”, including psychedelics, for patients under circumstances where other therapies have failed to help the patient, or are otherwise unsuitable or unavailable in Canada.
September 2021: Ahead of Canada’s 2021 election, the Canadian Psychedelic Association asked all the major federal parties whether they would support legalizing psilocybin-assisted therapy. The Liberal Party of Canada said it would “follow the guidance of health experts on this issue”, while the NDP said it would “support safe and equitable patient access to psychedelic therapy in Canada.”
On September 20th, 2021, the Liberals won a plurality of seats in Canada’s federal parliament, allowing them to form a minority government with support from the NDP. The election’s outcome suggests the two parties have the requisite votes to pass legislation allowing greater access to psychedelic therapy in Canada should Parliament take up the matter.
December 2020: Health Canada announced its intention to restore access to restricted drugs through the Special Access Program, which would allow health practitioners to request prohibited drugs (such as psilocybin and MDMA) for patients with serious or life-threatening conditions if other therapies have failed to help the patient, or are otherwise unsuitable or unavailable in Canada. It opened a 60 day comment period for the public to provide feedback on the proposal. The comment period closed on February 10, 2021.
2020-2021
September 2021: Ahead of Canada’s 2021 election, the Canadian Psychedelic Association asked all the major federal parties whether they would support legalizing psilocybin-assisted therapy. The Liberal Party of Canada said it would “follow the guidance of health experts on this issue”, while the NDP said it would “support safe and equitable patient access to psychedelic therapy in Canada.”
On September 20th, 2021, the Liberals won a plurality of seats in Canada’s federal parliament, allowing them to form a minority government with support from the NDP. The election’s outcome suggests the two parties have the requisite votes to pass legislation allowing greater access to psychedelic therapy in Canada should Parliament take up the matter.
December 2020: Health Canada announced its intention to restore access to restricted drugs through the Special Access Program, which would allow health practitioners to request prohibited drugs (such as psilocybin and MDMA) for patients with serious or life-threatening conditions if other therapies have failed to help the patient, or are otherwise unsuitable or unavailable in Canada. It opened a 60 day comment period for the public to provide feedback on the proposal. The comment period closed on February 10, 2021.