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e-2534 (Justice)

E-petition
Initiated by Trevor Millar from Surrey, British Columbia

Original language of petition: English

Petition to the House of Commons in Parliament assembled

Whereas:
  • The use of sacramental and medicinal plants, comprising of plants and fungi, with healing and therapeutic properties, dates to prehistory, and such practices are culturally and socially significant to multitudes of diverse populations globally;
  • Sacramental and medicinal plants are recognized by the United Nations under the Convention on Psychotropic Substances, 1971, whereby traditional uses of plants that contain listed psychoactive ingredients are exempt in cultural and social circumstances;
  • There is mounting peer-reviewed evidence that these traditional remedies support recovery from addiction, and mitigate mental health suffering while having minimal toxicity when used responsibly and in accordance with best practices; and
  • In the midst of an overdose crisis, accompanied by the causes of trauma, anxiety and depression, a wider range of treatment modalities, including those informed by ancient and indigenous knowledge, are urgently needed.
We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the House of Commons in Parliament assembled to:
1. Immediately discontinue enforcement of statutes or regulations that prohibit or impose onerous restrictions on informed adult use, growing, or sharing of any plant or fungi, where an established record of traditional use exists;
2. Affirm these practices are protected by the Charter guarantees of liberty and justice, as well as freedom of belief, religion, expression, and peaceful assembly, and extend the cultural and social exemptions afforded under the Convention on Psychotropic Substances, 1971 to Canada; and
3. Amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Food and Drug Act and regulations to distinguish and exempt these organisms when used for therapeutic practices, as adjuncts to medical care, for healing ceremonies or solitary spiritual growth and self-development.
Open for signature
April 16, 2020, at 1:34 p.m. (EDT)
Closed for signature
August 14, 2020, at 1:34 p.m. (EDT)
Photo - Paul Manly
Nanaimo—Ladysmith
Green Party Caucus
British Columbia
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