At this time MDMA is illegal in Canada and we do not provide any clinical services or advice related to MDMA-Assisted Therapy
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BREAKING NEWS: Canada amends drug laws to allow restricted access to MDMA-Assisted Therapy

Darek Dawda
• January 7, 2022
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Man with Canadian flag across their back.

On January 5, 2022, Health Canada made a historic amendment to its drug laws to allow restricted drugs, such as MDMA and Psilocybin, to be accessible, under special conditions, through the Special Access Program. 

This amendment paves the path for MDMA-Assisted Therapy to be available for those in need, under special circumstances, outside clinical trials.

Here are the relevant details

The Special Access Program provides potential access to restricted drugs that are not approved for general clinical use, such a MDMA or Psilocybin. 

Special Access is for emergency treatments only.  

Special Access only applies to people with serious or life-threatening conditions.

Special Access only applies after the available conventional therapies have failed. 

Prescribing practitioners have to apply for treatment on a case-by-case basis.

There has to be sufficient clinical research data on the safety and effectiveness of the treatment being applied for. Here, the amendment explicitly mentions that both MDMA-Assisted Therapy for PTSD as well as Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy for treatment-resistant depression have been granted “breakthrough status” by the FDA, a very rare designation reserved for new treatments that show better promise than anything currently available. 

Practitioners are obliged to provide clients with information on the potential risks and benefits. 

If granted special access, practitioners are obliged to monitor for and report any adverse effects.   

If granted special access, practitioners are obliged to report the results of treatment to the drug manufacturer and to Health Canada.   

This amendment is not a move towards the decriminalization or legalization of psychedelics. 

This amendment to Canada’s drug laws is a result of the hard work, research, and advocacy by many individuals and organizations, including the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, as well as an overwhelmingly positive response to Health Canada’s Notice of Intent inviting public feedback to the proposed amendment. 

So what’s next?

As far as we understand, nobody in Canada (or elsewhere in the world) has yet received MDMA-Assisted Therapy through the Special Access Program outside of the clinical research trials. This world-wide precedent is waiting to be set. 

Subscribe @ enhancedtherapy.ca to hear an interview with Scott Bernstein (drug policy and human rights lawyer and Executive Director of MAPS Canada) unpacking this new development. 

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Enhanced Therapy Newsletter

Updates on Enhanced Therapy research, legalization, general information, and trivia

Julie Holland

M.D.

Dr. Julie Holland is a psychiatrist and psychopharmacologist, and author of the New York Times bestseller “Moody Bitches” and “Weekends at Bellevue”. She is the editor of two non-profit books: “Ecstasy: The Complete Guide” and “The Pot Book: A Complete Guide to Cannabis”. While now a medical advisor to MAPS, she was a medical monitor for several clinical studies examining the efficacy of using MDMA-assisted psychotherapy or cannabis in the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Her newest book is “Good Chemistry: The Science of Connection, From Soul to Psychedelics”.

Mark Haden

Ph.D.

• Adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia School of Public and Population Health.
• Executive Director of MAPS Canada (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies).
• Has published on the issue of drug control policy and psychedelics in the following Journals:

  • Canadian Journal of Public Health
  • International Journal of Drug Policy
  • Encyclopaedia of Public Health
  • Harm Reduction Journal
  • Open Medicine
  • Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
  • Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs

• Teaches in the UBC school of medicine (Population and Public Health)
• Obtained an MSW from UBC
• Worked for the Addiction Services for 28 years in counselling and supervisory roles.
• Has provided public education on drugs and drug policy for over 30 years.
• Works with the Health Officers Council of British Columbia on their position papers on the issue of a regulated market for all currently illegal drugs.
• Has presented in conferences and training events in many countries
• Awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for drug policy reform work in 2013.

We have donated to support Dr. Anne Wagner’s upcoming study, and we encourage you to do the same. Dr. Wagner is a Canadian psychologist who is currently starting world’s largest to date study aimed at future legalization of MDMA-Assisted Therapy for Relationships. Donating to support this study is the most direct way you can advance the future legalization of Enhanced Therapy for Relationships. Your donation is tax deductible and all funds go directly (via MAPS Canada) to Dr. Anne Wagner’s study. 

Donating is a direct way to influence change.

donate TO maps.org

Contact Us

At this time, we do not provide services or advice related to MDMA-Assisted Therapy, and we do not respond to emails seeking advice or services. We recommend you SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter for upcoming developments. 

Neil McArthur

Ph.D.

My current teaching and research focuses on philosophy and sexuality, in particular on sexual ethics. I write regularly about sex for VICE. I also have a blog available to read: morallust.com, or you can follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/MoralLust. My research also includes the history of political philosophy, in particular the political philosophy of the British Enlightenment. My book David Hume’s Political Theory was published in 2007.

In addition to philosophy, I am also interested in film-making. My films have played at numerous festivals, including the Toronto World-Wide Short Film Festival, the DOXA Festival (Vancouver), and the Calgary International Film Festival – more information is available at landofoil.com. I have also recently performed a one-person show at both the Toronto and Winnipeg Fringe Festivals. You can read more about that here: neilmcarthur.com.

Darek Dawda

Ph.D., C.Psych.

Darek Dawda is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Winnipeg with extensive experience working with trauma and couples. He has been helping Manitobans over 15 years, using a multitude of scientifically validated treatment methods, including CBT, mindfulness, meditation, and focussing.

Darek is the founder of Enhanced Therapy Institute, an information, research, and training hub for future delivery of MDMA-Assisted Therapy. He has special interest is assuring a safe, ethical, and effective delivery of Enhanced Therapy in a medical context, and developing specialized ethical and standard of practice guidelines for Canadian psychologists. He is also invested in developing an Enhanced Relationship Therapy model, and using MDMA to heal relationships, once such treatment is scientifically validated and legalized in the medical context.

Darek believes in a world in which optimal conditions exist for all living creatures to live safe and fulfilling lives. He considers the global health of our eco-system and the growing tribal rifts to be today’s most important issues. He hopes that Enhanced Relationship Therapy will one day play a role in healing our relationship to ourselves, to each other (including our leaders), and to our natural environment

Zach Walsh

Ph.D.

Zach Walsh is a clinical psychologist, a Research Affiliate with the BC Centre on Substance Use, and an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of British Columbia, where he directs the Therapeutic, Recreational, and Problematic Substance Use lab.  He has published and presented widely on topics related to psychedelics, cannabis, mental health and psychotherapy.  He is an investigator on several clinical trials of psychedelics and cannabis, including the MAPS sponsored study of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD, and upcoming trials of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for problematic substance use. Zach’s clinical focus is on the application of “third wave” mindfulness-based behavior therapies to address trauma, relationship conflict, and problematic substance use. 

Jazmin Pirozek

M.Sc.

Jazmin is of Kinosao Sipi, Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba and lives in Kenora, Ontario. She is a student of Maestro Juan Flores, a Plant Medicine Teacher of the Peruvian Amazon. Jazmin has received her Master’s degree in Biology, focussing on Boreal Forest Ethnobotany, as well, she is a graduate of Boreal Forest Archaeology and Cultural Anthropology. Jazmin has travelled across Canada to share her knowledge, as well as to the United Kingdom to present at Breaking Convention 2019. She assisted in writing Science North’s Planetarium film “Under the Same Stars: Minwaadiziwin,” including narration and singing for the piece. Jazmin shares her knowledge of Boreal forest medicines, continually working with Indigenous people of Northern Ontario. Currently, Jazmin works as a consultant with a Tribal council and a Community Organization teaching knowledge that promotes well-being, healing and self-knowing. The construction of her Healing Centre, located on Lake of the Woods, begins in 2021.

Erika Dyck

Ph.D.

Erika Dyck is a Professor and a Canada Research Chair in the History of Health & Social Justice. She is the author or co-author of several books, including: Psychedelic Psychiatry (2008); Facing Eugenics (2013); Managing Madness (2017); and Challenging Choices (2020). Erika is the co-editor of the Canadian Bulletin for Medical History/Bulletin canadien d’histoire de la medicine and the co-editor of a book series on the global history of alcohol and drugs, called Intoxicating Histories.

Ken Tupper

Ph.D.

Kenneth Tupper is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia and Adjunct Professor in the School of Child & Youth Care at the University of Victoria. His doctoral research developed the concept of “entheogenic education,” a theoretical frame for understanding how psychedelic plants and substances can function as cognitive tools for learning. Kenneth’s current research interests include: psychedelic studies; the cross-cultural and historical uses of drugs; public, professional and school-based drug education; and creating healthy public policy to maximize benefits and minimize harms from psychoactive substances. He has published in numerous peer reviewed academic journals, presented at international health and drug policy conferences, and has twice been appointed to Canadian delegations to high-level United Nations international drug policy.

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Bruce Sanguin

RMFT

Bruce Sanguin is a psychotherapist living on Denman Island, B.C. After 30 years as an ordained minister he took early retirement and began an intensive period of personal healing with the use of psychedelics. He is the author of seven books, the latest of which Dismantled: How Psychedelics Broke and Clergyman Apart and Put Him Back Together describes his healing journey with various medicines. Bruce is a Clinical Fellow of the Canadian Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. 

 

Rick Doblin

Ph.D.

Rick Doblin, Ph.D. is the founder and executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). He received his doctorate in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where he wrote his dissertation on the regulation of the medical uses of psychedelics and marijuana and his Master’s thesis on a survey of oncologists about smoked marijuana vs. the oral THC pill in nausea control for cancer patients. Rick studied with Dr. Stanislav Grof and was among the first to be certified as a Holotropic Breathwork practitioner. He founded MAPS in 1986, and currently resides in Boston with his wife, dog, and empty rooms from three children, one of whom is in college and two have graduated.

Donate to Dr. Anne Wagner's study

We have donated to support Dr. Anne Wagner’s upcoming study, and we encourage you to do the same. Dr. Wagner is a Canadian psychologist who is currently starting world’s largest to date study aimed at future legalization of MDMA-Assisted Therapy for Relationships. Donating to support this study is the most direct way you can advance the future legalization of Enhanced Therapy for Relationships. Your donation is tax deductible and all funds go directly (via MAPS Canada) to Dr. Anne Wagner’s study.

Donating is a direct way to influence change. 

DONATE TO MAPS.ORG

Anne Wagner

Ph.D., C.Psych.

Dr. Anne Wagner is a clinical psychologist and researcher who is committed to helping understand and improve trauma recovery. She is the founder of Remedy, a mental health innovation community. She is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychology and an Associate Member of the Yeates School of Graduate Studies at Ryerson University. She is the Past-Chair of the Traumatic Stress Section of the Canadian Psychological Association, and sits on the Quality Committee of Casey House (Toronto’s HIV/AIDS Hospital). Anne has presented and published extensively in the use of trauma-informed care, trauma treatment, stigma and interpersonal factors. Anne has a particular focus on innovating mental health interventions, for example by using different treatment formats (e.g., with couples), and facilitators of treatment (e.g., MDMA). Anne, alongside Dr. Michael Mithoefer, Annie Mithoefer, BSN, and Dr. Candice Monson, was one of the investigators of the MAPS funded pilot study of Cognitive Behavioral Conjoint Therapy for PTSD + MDMA. Anne is the lead investigator for the upcoming MAPS funded pilot study of Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD + MDMA.

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