Once relegated to the counterculture, psilocybin—the psychoactive compound in "magic mushrooms"—has been receiving renewed scientific attention. A growing body of research points to its potential for treating depression, addiction and end-of-life distress, prompting several countries to loosen regulations and greenlight clinical use.
What do Canada's frontline health care professionals think? Are they ready to integrate psilocybin into palliative care? And what hurdles do they foresee?
A research team including Dr. Nicolas Garel, a psychiatrist at the CHUM hospital and professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Addiction at Université de Montréal, set out to answer these questions. Garel is interested in novel, integrated approaches to mental health and substance use disorders, including psychedelic therapies.
Generally favorable response
For a study recently published in Palliative Medicine, the team surveyed more than 120 people involved in palliative care (doctors, other health care professionals, caregivers and administrators) in Canada's four most populous provinces: Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.
