Psychedelics may have the ability to forever change our perception of how we treat and understand mental health. Research is now being done all over the world with Canada being considered a hub for research on psychedelic therapy.
Field Trip Health is one of Toronto’s very first psychedelic therapy clinics. They take a different blended approach of psychedelic psychotherapy. They offer different programs one called Core and the other being Core plus. Core is geared towards anxiety and depression while Core plus is geared towards individuals who are experiencing complex PTSD or trauma.
Field Trip Health uses Ketamine as it’s currently the only one that’s been granted legal use by the Canadian government. Research and real life experience has shown the potential of what these drugs can do for us.
“I think it really stems from generations of being told that drugs are bad and there’s no medicinal use for them, they say you know drugs are for bad people,” says Monica Mina, director of clinical operations at Field Trip Health. “I think the stigma was so strong, because it came right around the time of prohibition of alcohol, and then drugs kind of came under attack right after that.”
She has a different understanding of drugs due to how she was raised, Mina says. “I grew up in a country area, where a lot of people use marijuana or psilocybin, and that’s a very natural plant — and then on the other side I have my parents telling us if you use this you will die.”
As more research is being done and more of the general public becomes educated around these substances, many practical uses can be derived from psychedelics.
Have you ever wondered what psychedelics are?
First, let’s take a look at the the textbook definition: psychedelics are a subset of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness known as psychedelic experiences or commonly known as trips. Some of the most common psychedelics include psilocybin (found inside of magic mushrooms), LSD, DMT, and Ketamine.
“They’re a way of helping us grow. Psychedelics have a way of showing us things,” says Brian Fernandes, a social worker at Field Trip Health. ”It breaks us out of our regular thought patterns and are able to stop negative thought patterns right away and are a way to look inside yourself.”
Research has shown the promise for therapeutic uses of psychedelics in a wide variety of existing illnesses, including anxiety, depression and PTSD.
Alongside this research, governments are beginning to make changes around the laws that surround drugs. A retail boom of a lot of the drugs has happened.
Psychedelics are illegal to possess or obtain without having a prescription. They are a schedule three drug. Despite this, many online dispensaries openly sell micro doses of psilocybin. Many have shared their experiences over social media with these new drugs.
Worldwide psychedelics have many homes where they are considered fully legal. Portugal comes to the top of the list having legalized everything from cannabis to crack. Other places include Brazil, Netherlands, Jamaica, Peru, and the UK. In the U.S., Oregon recently became the first state to legalize psychedelic mushrooms.