Transcendence: Finding healing and connection in a mushroom

We have a mental health problem in this country. I know, I worry about even typing it, but it’s true. Social media, smart phones, isolation, and then to top it all off, the pandemic. Therapy sessions move to Zoom, classes move online, and customers yell at you at your minimum-wage job. It’s a lot to process when your antidepressants already aren’t working like they used to. Rates of anxiety, depression, and addiction are all on the rise. But there’s reason to be optimistic, albeit cautiously, and it comes in the form of a mushroom.

It would be dubious to say that Canada has been a pioneering force in the field of hallucinogenic compounds; ancient peoples have been using mind-altering substances for thousands of years to delve into the mysteries of human consciousness, but it’s no small feat for a country to emerge from a half-century of moral panic. Illegal in Canada since 1974, psychedelics like psilocybin, LSD, and ayahuasca are worming their way back into the prohibition conversation.

Canada’s federal government has several compelling reasons to relax its restrictions on psychedelic mushrooms. Though their nature and scope have been limited by restrictive laws, studies have routinely shown that psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy can have radically positive effects on people suffering from debilitating mental illnesses like treatment-resistant depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Gaining another weapon in our arsenal in the fight for mental health is no small achievement; however, while advocates are quick to espouse the potential benefits across a whole spectrum of society, there’s an awareness that too much, too fast can cause a backlash...

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