First Psilocybin Research Grant Approved in Canada - Archived
Magic mushrooms have surged in popularity in Canada in recent years. Anecdotal evidence shows that psilocybin can change people’s lives for the better and have amazing impacts on their mental health. However, the federal government has been lagging behind for a long time.
Shrooms are a Schedule 3 substance in Canada. Other schedule 3 drugs include LSD, peyote, and DMT. Scientists are working to see whether these substances can be used clinically to help patients with their mental health or other medical issues.
Microdosing magic shrooms could really make a difference, and larger doses have been found to be helpful as well. Researchers are just starting to hop aboard and study these amazing psychedelics.
Here’s the good news about research that’s just been approved in Canada and what that means for the future of magic mushrooms in the country.
New Canadian Research
In July 2022, Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) received the first grant to research psilocybin mushrooms that has ever been granted by the Canadian federal government.
The study will look to see whether psilocybin is helpful for patients with depression. Past research has been promising in this field. The lead researcher on the upcoming study said that magic shrooms can have a sustained antidepressant effect when combined with psychotherapy.
One of the things researchers want to achieve is administering large doses of magic mushrooms without the participants “tripping” on the psychoactive effects of the psilocybin. They plan to use a blocker for that will stop these effects on some of their test subjects.
Researchers will study 60 adults who have been living with depression for at least three years and haven’t responded to other treatments.
One third of the participants will get a full dose of psilocybin with a blocker to prevent psychedelic effects, one will get psilocybin and a placebo, so they will experience a “trip.” Another third will get only a placebo and a blocker.
All of the subjects will also go through 12 hours of psychotherapy, a normal part of research into psychedelics. It can allow patients to decompress and work through any revelations they had during their experience. Researchers hope that the psilocybin magic shrooms alone will help patients without the need for therapy in the future.
The Centre’s study is being funded by the Canadian Institute for Health Research. It’s the first time that government money has been used in a study about magic mushrooms.
Past Magic Mushroom Research
Since psilocybin is a scheduled drug in many parts of the world, including Canada, it’s been difficult to learn more about it and its potential medical uses.
A small study from John Hopkins has shown similar effects on depression, exactly what the new Canadian study is looking for.
In the study, 24 patients with major depressive disorder completed two five-hour psilocybin sessions with researchers. At their one-week follow up, 67% of participants showed more than a 50% reduction in their depression, and 71% felt the same after a four-week follow up.
Overall, when studied four weeks after treatment, 54% of participants no longer qualified as being depressed. This is a huge improvement that would be nearly impossible to achieve with any prescription medication.
In one survey, participants said that microdosing magic mushrooms positively impacted their mood, creativity, self-efficacy, focus, energy, and more. The number one thing that was impacted was their mood, pointing again to the possibility that microdosing or macrodosing psilocybin could help with depression.
Psilocybin mushrooms are gaining special traction in the field of addiction treatment and recovery. A large eight-month study has shown the potential of the magic shrooms in helping alcoholics quit drinking.
During the trial, 93 people ages 25-65 were given either two psilocybin doses or placebo pills. They also completed 12 psychotherapy sessions. All volunteers were averaging seven alcoholic drinks a day before the trial began.
The results were overwhelmingly positive. More than 80% of people who were given the psilocybin treatment had drastically reduced their drinking eight months after the treatment, compared to 50% of the placebo group.
At the end of the trial, half of the psilocybin group had quit drinking altogether, compared to one quarter of the placebo group.
Magic shrooms might also help people kick their smoking habit. In one study, 80% of participants stopped smoking after six months. Studies done on varenicline, the most effective smoking cessation drug on the market, only shows a success rate of 35%.
There’s also anecdotal evidence that magic mushrooms can help patients with the following conditions:
- Anxiety
- Addiction
- Depression
- Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Fear from terminal cancer
- Anorexia
- ADHD
It seems obvious that the benefits of magic mushrooms should be explored much further. Luckily, given the Canadian federal grant, it seems more and more likely that research will continue.
Hope for the Future
There’s hope on the horizon for treating mental and physical illnesses with magic mushrooms.
In 2020, Health Canada granted permission for 16 health professionals—including nurses, doctors, therapists, and social workers—to administer psilocybin to themselves in hopes that they can develop new therapies for use in the future.
One thing that needs to move forward is studying participants objectively. Most past studies have involved participants self-reporting the effect magic mushrooms had on them. However, this isn’t the most scientific sort of study.
To prove their efficacy, studies need to include placebos to eliminate the possibility that people are overstating the effects of psilocybin. Trials also need to be better controlled and have more participants, and the substance should be administered in a clinical environment.
The great news is, the study that will be performed by Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health sounds like it will tick all those boxes.
As magic mushrooms become more normalized in Canada, there are more chances for scientific research into the possible amazing medical impact of psilocybin. Researchers hope that the federal government gives out more grants in the future to further this research.
Looking to experience the effects of microdosing magic shrooms firsthand? Ground Sounds has you covered!
Ground Sounds carries a variety of microdosing products that could change your life. Many of their patients swear that they’ve seen positive effects on their life like improved mood, focus, and creativity.
We carry psilocybin mushroom capsules at several different doses so you can enjoy the psychedelic however you want. You might be surprised to see the effects that you see with just a little psilocybin in your life!
