Terminally-ill patients get psilocybin medicine approval in Canada

Canada just announced that four patients diagnosed with end-stage cancer will be receiving therapy with psilocybin, the psychoactive component in mushrooms. Patients should come to terms with the fact that the use of psilocybin will end their lives. This happens more than 100 days after a patient appeals to the government. Finally, the plea for medicine was approved by Patty Hajdu, the Minister of Health of Canada. It is the first exception to the rule for psychedelic treatment since 1974. "The recognition of the pain and anxiety I've suffered means a lot to me, and it makes me feel quite emotional today," said Laurie Brooks, one of the patients who were able to receive her treatments. "I hope this is just the beginning and that soon all Canadians will have access to psilocybin for therapeutic use to help with the pain they are experiencing, without months of asking government permission. "I would like to personally thank Minister Hajdu and the Office of Controlled Substances team for approving my Section 56 Exemption. This is the positive outcome that can be achieved when good people show genuine compassion. I am so grateful that I did can proceed with the next step of healing, "added the patient Thomas Hartle. Dr. Bruce Tobin, Founder and Chairman of TheraPsil, the group behind making psilocybin available to end-of-life patients, said: "We would like to express our tremendous thanks to the Honorable Minister of Health, Patty Hajdu, and our government. Although it has taken a long time, We are impressed with their willingness to listen to patients who have not been heard and to shift focus and policies to meet their interests and protect their needs, and we thank the brave Canadian patients who have come out publicly for access to Psilocybin, as well as the honorable Canadian MPs who have shown courage in advocating for patient rights, including Marcus Powlowski, Ed Fast, Elizabeth May, Paul Manley, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Helena Jaczek and Hedy Fry. Compassionate care through plants Fear of the end of life can often be one of the most serious side effects of a fatal diagnosis, and traditional anxiety medicine often doesn't help. Because of this, the patients who consented to this treatment specifically asked for an alternative to the drugs they were prescribed. "It gives you a fast heart rate. It makes you feel awful," Hartle said. Based on this, patients chose psilocybin as recent research shows how much it can help with end-of-life healing. A study by NYU Langone Health found that 60 to 80 percent of the 29 people who took part found that psilocybin, when combined with psychotherapy, helps relieve fear of death. Most patients reported positive life changes after treatment. While there are still fatal diagnoses in Western medicine, it is incredibly important that end-of-life treatment is a priority and this will help bring peace of mind to the patients who need it.