Health Canada’s decision to allow doctors to request access to psychedelic drugs to treat some of their patients is a big step towards transforming mental health care in the country, according to a director of a mental health therapy clinic. Toronto.
Posted at 11:20 a.m.
The Dr Michael Verbora says, however, that this recent change is not enough.
The latest version of the Restricted Drug Regulations Amending Certain Regulations came into force last week.
Health Canada now allows doctors to make a request to prescribe certain psychedelic restricted drugs, such as psilocybin or LSD, to certain patients as part of their therapy.
However, the agency specifies that “all applications will continue to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis taking into account the level of evidence regarding the safety and efficacy of the proposed use, as well as the patient’s disease and his or her clinical condition”.
Physicians will need to apply on behalf of a patient with a life-threatening or serious illness. They can do this through the Special Access Program when conventional treatments have failed, are unsuitable, or are not available in Canada.
For the Dr Verbora, the objective is not to create a waiting list since the authorizations only involve urgent requests.
He adds that the challenge will be to properly train practitioners on their role in the application process.
This article was produced with the financial support of the Facebook and The Canadian Press News Fellowships.