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e-1210 (Research and development)

E-petition
Initiated by Bradley Foster from Toronto, Ontario

Original language of petition: English

Petition to the House of Commons

Whereas:
  • Globally, and within Canada, a multitude of pilot studies and controlled clinical trials have established clear and experimentally-validated protocols for the safe use of psychedelics in clinical-therapeutic contexts;
  • Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies have shown clear promise as breakthrough interventions for treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder, treatment resistant major depressive disorder, end-of-life anxiety in terminally ill cancer patients, and various substance addiction disorders (ranging from nicotine to alcohol to opioids) – debilitating conditions that the Parliamentary Information Service’s studies have concluded to cost the country well over $50 billion annually;
  • Psychedelic compounds, and the plant sources they are derived from, cannot be patented, and as such, there is no incentive for pharmaceutical companies to invest in the development of these treatments despite a rapidly growing body of evidence supporting their effectiveness;
  • As such, clinical research using psychedelics thus requires robust public funding in order to progress. Such funding would help to establish Canada as a world leader in the development of novel mental health treatments and interventions; and
  • Therefore, given the strong precedent for the safe use of psychedelics in controlled-clinical settings,
We, the undersigned, citizens of Canada, call upon the Minister of Health to request that the Minister acknowledge the potential for psychedelic research to generate novel and effective treatment options for these, and likely various other conditions, and to commit significant, multi-year, funding for major psychedelic research projects at hospitals and universities across Canada.
Government response tabled on April 16, 2018 (Sessional Paper No. 8545-421-103-03)
Open for signature
September 12, 2017, at 3:54 p.m. (EDT)
Closed for signature
January 10, 2018, at 3:54 p.m. (EDT)
Presented to the House of Commons
Nathaniel Erskine-Smith (Beaches—East York)
February 26, 2018 (Petition No. 421-02087)
Government response tabled
April 16, 2018
Photo - Nathaniel Erskine-Smith
Beaches—East York
Liberal Caucus
Ontario