Conservative MP Corey Tochor introduced legislation Tuesday that would expand access to psychedelic-assisted therapies in Canada, arguing patients suffering from mental illness should have easier access to treatments containing psilocybin.Tochor unveiled Bill C-286 during a Parliament Hill press conference Tuesday morning. The private member’s bill would amend federal drug laws to allow psilocybin and psilocin to be used for medical treatment under Canada’s narcotics regulatory framework while also fast-tracking regulatory reviews for psychedelic-based medicines.“The state will help you end your life but won’t grant you legal access to a plant that is non-toxic and non-addictive,” Tochor told CBC News.“It makes no sense what we’re doing in Canada.”Psilocybin, the psychoactive compound found in so-called magic mushrooms, remains a controlled substance under federal law. Possession, production and distribution are generally prohibited without government authorization..Health Canada currently permits limited access through its Special Access Program, which allows physicians to request restricted drugs for patients with serious or life-threatening conditions when conventional treatments have failed.Advocates of psychedelic-assisted therapy argue the current system is overly restrictive and burdened by lengthy approval processes.According to data cited by Conservatives, approval rates for psilocybin applications have fallen to roughly 30% in recent months. Some patients report waiting months or even more than a year for applications to be processed.“There’s been an explosion of research that shows it can be an effective treatment for mental health and addiction patients,” Tochor said.“There is a body of science out there that’s showing this is safe and there’s no reason why we manage it the way we do.”Tochor also argued that the grey market has emerged in Canada, with storefronts openly selling psilocybin outside the Special Access Program.According to the text of Bill C-286, the legislation’s stated purpose is “to improve access to hallucinogenic drug medical treatment and not to circumvent existing approval processes for new drugs.”The bill would redefine psilocybin and psilocin as narcotics for the purposes of Canada’s Narcotic Control Regulations, allowing them to be prescribed and administered through the same framework used for other controlled medical treatments.The legislation would also remove psilocybin and psilocin from the category of “restricted drugs” under federal food and drug regulations.Another key provision would automatically grant priority-review status to Health Canada submissions involving psilocybin, psilocin or chemically similar substances. The bill states that requests for priority review would be “deemed to have been granted” upon receipt by the department.
