Canadian Senator Larry Campbell made a confession last week about his use of psychedelics to treat depression.

According to Campbell, who has worked in drug reform for a long time as both the Mayor of Vancouver and a member of the Canadian Senate, he suffers from PTSD, depression, and the issues of “getting old.” However, his normal cocktail of anti-depressants was still leaving him with symptoms, making him “grumpy.”

His mood suddenly improved during the pandemic. The cause was not obvious to him.

After several weeks, he finally mentioned it to his wife.

Then, she confessed that she had been adding microdoses of Psilocybin to his coffee.

This admission comes at a crucial time.

Canadian authorities are currently working on regulating the next wave of psychotropic drugs, beginning with psilocybin. The Special Access Program, which allows the legalization of certain medicines in Canada, has so far allowed depression sufferers to take psilocybin. Canadian authorities need to have evidence of clinical trials before they allow this drug to be legalized on a greater scale.

In the U.S., then-President Donald Trump signed a similar “right-to-try” piece of legislation in May 2018, allowing seriously ill patients to bypass the FDA for experimental medicines. It is possible that both cannabis and psychoactive psilocybin would be included in the coverage.

The state of psychedelic drug reform globally

Canada is considering legalizing medical marijuana, but the topic is still being discussed at all levels in America. Numerous cities have made progress already. Denver, Colorado is one of these cities. It was decriminalized three years ago in May. Many other cities, including several in California, Massachusetts and Washington State as well as Washington D.C., followed the lead.

Oregon is the only state to have decriminalized and made it legal for medical purposes.

A significant effort is being made in the U.K. for psilocybin to be legalized for therapeutic purposes.

Canada is the first nation to begin the process of possibly legitimizing the substance on a federal basis.

Does this sound familiar to you?

What is the Magic Mushroom Boom?

Psilocybin is also known as “Magic Mushrooms.” It is a naturally occurring psychedelic drug which was used traditionally by Meso-American societies for religious and spiritual purposes. In 1799, it was mentioned in European medical literature.

During the 1950s and ’60s, magic mushrooms were initially hailed as a wonder drug that could treat everything from addiction to anxiety. The Controlled Substances Act in 1970 made the substance a Schedule I drug. This was not surprising.

The modern movement for legalizing medical cannabis was born around the same time as the rise of the American state-level political campaign.

Recent court case in New Mexico, State of New Mexico, vs. David Ray Pratt held that the defendant did not manufacture the substance, but merely grew mushrooms on his property to use for personal purposes.

In 2018, the Food and Drug Administration granted psilocybin “breakthrough therapy” status for research purposes.

Psilocybin Adapts Brain to More Flexible

Based on the limited research currently available, the brain is more flexible when psilocybin is used. Depressed people’s brains appear to “ruminate”—or go in circles, making negative thinking an entrenched mental state. Psilocybin is believed to improve brain network integration and help individuals break this destructive pattern of thought.

Psilocybin works in a different way than other antidepressants. It is becoming increasingly clear that this could offer a possible alternative to traditional anti-depressant treatments. Even more excitingly, the research available so far also seems to suggest that psilocybin’s effects last long after treatment ends—which is not the case with traditional medicines. Johns Hopkins University’s study showed that major depression can be treated with psilocybin for approximately one year.

It is likely that cannabis reform will become mainstream. This will also mean more discussion about other psychedelic substances. Psilocybin has made that same journey, but at a much slower rate.

As cannabis reform becomes a reality around the world, it’s also evident that other drugs are also becoming more popular and have been banned in the past.

This is something that’s a great thing. This is especially true for those patients who are in need.