Monthly Archives: July 2022

For all the medical advances made over recent times, there is one area of healthcare where scientists are still struggling: mental health. Closely linked is the rise in substance abuse particularly in the US, whereannual deaths by this metric havemore than doubled since 1990to just over 2,000 per 100,000, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. In the same period, the rate of cancer deaths has stayed flat around 5,000 per 100,000, despite ageing populations making cancer more prevalent.

Deteriorating mental health is not the only factor behind this acceleration.Butthe Covid-19 pandemic has had a particular impact.In April 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that 78,021 people died from drug overdoses in the US during the previous 12 months. By December 2021, it forecast this number had risen to 107,622, a 38 per cent rise in 20 months. The effects of lockdowns on mental health is still being debated, but what is clear is that during the pandemic, for whatever reason, Americans became a lot less hopeful.

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The promise of psychedelics - Investors' Chronicle - Investors Chronicle

The national psychedelics reform movement received a boost Wednesday, as a pair of amendments that would increase access to psychedelic treatments for veterans and active-duty service members with mental health conditions was adopted by the House of Representatives. The amendments, which were added to the annual National Defense Authorization Act, were offered by Reps. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

The adoption follows a series of successes by the movement against the prohibition of psychedelics. A number of U.S. cities, like Denver and Detroit, have decriminalized some psychedelics in the last four years. In 2020,Oregon legalized psilocybin (the compound that giveshallucinogenic mushrooms their potency) for therapeutic use by any adult over the age of 21. While the amendments offered by Ocasio-Cortez and Crenshaw would only modestly relax federal restrictions on a subset of therapeutic studies, they are an acknowledgment of growing momentum to rethink the harsh restrictions imposed on psychedelics during the war on drugs.

In a floor speech Wednesday, Crenshaw a Navy veteran pleaded with members of his party to support his amendment. Many hear the word psychedelics and they think of acid trips from the 60s, he said. What were talking about here is the proven use of psychedelics to treat PTSD.

Crenshaw and Ocasio-Cortezs amendments were approved via voice vote shortly thereafter. Ocasio-Cortezs amendment would open up further avenues for therapeutic studies of MDMA and psilocybin. Crenshaws would also provide for further studies of those two substances, as well as lesser-known psychedelics ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT.

Despite the similar nature of their legislation, there is little indication that the two representatives worked in concert to secure passage. Crenshaw has drawn scrutiny in the past for claiming to support efforts to expand veterans access to psychedelic treatments, only to oppose measures introduced by Ocasio-Cortez that would do just that.

Ocasio-Cortez, for her part, has in the past introduced several measures to expand access, including bipartisan efforts that were identical to the measure adopted by the House on Wednesday, but she declined outreach from her former Republican partner this year. She previously co-sponsored such efforts with Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican who was investigatedby federal authorities for allegations involving potential sex with a minor, paying for unauthorized sex work, and taking MDMA during some of the alleged episodes.

Gaetz and Ocasio-Cortez ended up introducing nearly identical versions of the amendment. Gaetzs version of the amendment was ultimately ruled out of order by the House Rules Committee, while Ocasio-Cortezs was cleared for a floor vote. In testimony to the Rules Committee on Tuesday, Gaetz acknowledged that the two measures were identical and noted that outreach from his office around co-sponsoring the amendment this year went unreturned. Ill take the hint, he said, before speaking in favor of her amendment.

The disjointed nature of the bipartisan effort could complicate adoption of both measures in the final package. While the passage of amendments from members of both parties is a positive sign, the policies fates remain uncertain in the Senate. The Senates version of the National Defense Authorization Act is typically more conservative, given that chambers freewheeling amendment process and the three-fifths requirement to overcome a filibuster. The current draft of the Senate bill, which has not advanced to the floor, does not include amendments to expand access to psychedelic-assisted therapeutics.

The two houses will hash out differences between their respective versions in a conference committee in the weeks ahead, and it is unclear whether proponents can muster the political will to secure final passage for psychedelics reforms.

Crenshaw and Ocasio-Cortezs offices did not immediately respond to requests to clarify whether they would work together to ensure that some version of their proposals becomes law.

Activists are hopeful that the adoption of both measures by the House will put pressure on the Senate to follow suit. My hope is that the Senate will put bickering aside and include it too, said Jonathan Lubecky, veterans and governmental affairs liaison for the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. If AOC and Crenshaw can agree, its hard to fight against it.

Lubecky, whose story was included in Crenshaws committee testimony, knows firsthand howcrucial potential reforms could be. He credits a series of psychedelic therapiesfor his rehabilitation after combat-induced trauma left him with debilitatingPTSDthat led to multiple suicide attempts. This should be a wake-up call that these therapies are real and they work, he said. I should know they saved my life.

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House Moves to Expand Psychedelic Therapy Research - The Intercept

SAN FRANCISCO -- Ann Shulgin, who together with her late husband Alexander Shulgin pioneered the use of psychedelic drugs in psychotherapy and co-wrote two seminal books on the subject, has died at the age of 91.

Shulgin had been in ill health because of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, her daughter, Wendy Tucker, said. She died Saturday at the farm, a sprawling San Francisco Bay Area residence she shared with her chemist husband until his death in 2014, surrounded by loved ones, Tucker said.

Shulgin had a deep understanding of Jungian psychoanalysis and collaborated with her husband, who in the 1970s rediscovered the MDMA compound, better known as ecstasy, and introduced it as a possible mental health treatment. The couple tested the substances on themselves and a small group of friends.

He was the scientist, and I was the psychologist, Shulgin said of their partnership in a 2014 interview with The Associated Press. He was a genius.

Born in New Zealand to an American diplomat and New Zealand mother, Shulgin grew up in different parts of the world. The family settled in San Francisco after her father's retirement. A professionally trained artist, Shulgin drew and painted all her life and worked as a medical transcriber.

In 1978, she met Alexander Shulgin, who created more than 200 chemical compounds for use in psychotherapy.

The couples home, where Alexander Shulgin also had his lab, in Lafayette, California, about 22 miles (35 kilometers) east of San Francisco, for decades was a gathering place for students, teachers and those working with psychedelics.

Though she was not a professionally trained psychotherapist, she was always the one who people talk to and you always felt like you could open up to her. She called herself a lay therapist, Tucker said.

The couple took copious notes of their experiences and of what they observed in others and co-wrote two books. PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story, which was published in 1991, and TiHKAL: The Continuation, published in 1997.

In PiHKAL, Shulgin wrote about her first experience with psychedelics when she was in her 20s.

I saw something forming in the air, slightly above the level of my head. I thought that it was perhaps a few feet from me, then I realized I couldnt actually locate it in space at all. It was a moving spiral opening, up there in the cool air, and I knew it was a doorway to the other side of existence, that I could step through it if I wished to be finished with this particular life I was living, and that there was nothing threatening or menacing about it; in fact, it was completely friendly. I also knew that I had no intention of stepping through it because there was still a great deal I wanted to do in my life, and I intended to live long enough to get it all done. The lovely spiral door didnt beckon; it was just matter-of-factly there," she wrote.

Publishers were afraid to print their first book about MDMA so the couple, who were against ecstasy being used outside of therapy, self-published it because they wanted to share their experiences and knowledge with the world, Tucker said.

They were the ones pushing to do all the PTSD work with veterans with MDMA because they saw people who had severe trauma could really break through. They were so brave to publish their work because that really opened the door and paved the way to all that is happening now, Tucker said.

In the U.S., several states have approved studying the potential medical use of psychedelics, which are still illegal under federal law. A string of cities have also decriminalized so-called magic mushrooms, and an explosion of investment money is flowing into the arena.

Experts say the research is promising for treating conditions ranging from PTSD to smoking addiction, but caution that some serious risks remain, especially for those with certain mental health conditions.

We lost years and years of research ability because of the attitude and fears around psychedelics. But we wouldnt be where we are if it wasnt for Ann and Sasha, she added.

Shulgin is survived by four children, eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. A memorial is being planned for later in the year.

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Ann Shulgin, pioneer of psychedelics in therapy, dies at 91 - ABC News

SANTA FE, N.M. Physicians and researchers are urging New Mexico legislators to allow the use of psychedelic mushrooms in mental health therapy aimed at overcoming depression, anxiety, psychological trauma and alcoholism.

A legislative panel on Tuesday listened to advocates who hope to broaden the scope of medical treatment and research assisted by psilocybin, the psychedelic active ingredient in certain mushrooms.

Oregon is so far the only state to legalize the therapeutic use of psilocybin.

Read More: The 10 Most Important Health Breakthroughs You Missed During the Pandemic

Recent studies indicate psilocybin could be useful in the treatment of major depression, including mental suffering among terminally ill patients, and for substance abuse including alcoholism, with low risks of addiction or overdose under medical supervision.

Physician Lawrence Leeman, a medicine professor at the University of New Mexico, urged legislators to move forward without waiting for federal decriminalization or regulatory approval to expand responsible therapies using doses of psilocybin.

Leeman and other advocates outlined emerging psilocybin protocols, involving six-hour supervised sessions and extensive discussions about the experience in subsequent counseling. He warned legislators that public interest is spawning illicit, underground experimentation without safeguards.

I do think there is a lot of promise from these medications, said Leeman, who also directs a program providing prenatal and maternity care to women with substance abuse problems. If this does go ahead, lets do this really safely, lets make sure we have people who are well trained (to administer the psychedelics) Lets make sure that people have counselors to see afterward.

It was unclear whether any New Mexico lawmakers will seek legislation for the medical use of psychedelics, which are still federally illegal. The Democratic-led Legislature convenes its next regular session in January 2023.

The study of psychedelics for therapy has made inroads in states led by Democrats and Republicans alike, including Hawaii, Connecticut, Texas, Utah and Oklahoma. And psilocybin has been decriminalized in the cities of Washington and Denver as well as Ann Arbor, Michigan; Cambridge, Massachusetts; and Oakland and Santa Cruz in California.

In several states, military veterans are helping to persuade lawmakers to study psychedelic mushrooms for therapeutic use in addressing post-traumatic stress.

Currently in New Mexico, lawful access to psilocybin-assisted therapy is available mostly through clinical trials.

Read More: Psilocybin Could be a Therapeutic Breakthrough For Addiction

Yale University psychiatrist Gerald Valentine said that leaves out people with low incomes and severe afflictions. He said the University of New Mexico is expanding its expertise in psychedelics-based therapies, and that a supportive environment can be found in communities such as Santa Fe, known as a progressive hub for healing and the arts.

These questions are starting to be answered about who might benefit from this therapy, Valentine said. I just feel very fortunate to be in a position to really bring this forth into real world situations.

Classic psychedelics include LSD, mescaline, psilocybin and ayahuasca. Plant-based psychedelics have long been used in indigenous cultures around the world.

At least one New Mexico church group uses hallucinogenic ayahuasca tea from the Amazon as a sacrament. A 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision ensured access to ayahuasca imports for a temple on the outskirts of Santa Fe affiliated with the Brazil-based Centro Esprita Beneficiente Unio do Vegetal.

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Doctors Urge Access to Psychedelic Therapies in New Mexico - TIME

A judicial review request was submitted to the federal court by more than 100 doctors, psychologists, clinical counselors, social workers and nurses across Canadachallengingthe countrys health ministers decision to reject the professionals' application to use restricted psychoactive drugs for training in psilocybin-assisted therapy.

The treatment in question includes ingesting consciousness-altering substances like magic mushrooms (psilocybin) in a clinical setting, accompanied bytraditionalpsychotherapy.

The federal government had hinted earlier this year that it would refuse the applications, said Nicholas Pope, thelawyer representing the advocacy group that operates the training program andhealthcare practitioners, reported the CBC.

According to Pope, the only reason cited then was that the professionals could access an existing clinical trial. In June, with the applications official refusal, Ottawa suggested they could run their own trial. The group repliedthatexisting trials are costly and don't work for many of the professionals petitioning because of timing and location.

"Many patients on waiting lists have suicidal ideation because of their depression and many of them have end-of-life distress, have terminal cancer and could die soon," saidPope, adding that the situation would not work for a variety of reasons.

A major one is that existing trials are costly, and they don't work for many of the professionals he's representing because of timing and location.

"You can't just throw together the clinical trial in a few days," Pope said.

"Many patients on waiting lists have suicidal ideation because of their depression and many of them have end-of-life distress, have terminal cancer and could die soon."

Pope said some professionals also don't want to participate in existing trials because they are meant for research of psilocybin.

"That can interfere with training because the primary goal of a clinical trial is not the training, it's gathering information. And there's no uncertainty in the expert community about safety of psilocybin in healthy adults."

In 2020, Health Canada began granting exemptions under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to provide psychedelics treatment to patients suffering from end-of-life psychological distress, treatment-resistant depression and major depressive disorder.

The number of documents annually presented to court shows hundreds of Canadians asking about the therapy, yet according to Pope,there are notenough professionals in the country to provide it.

One of the patients waiting for the treatments approval said: "If I were to do too much or have a bad trip, sometimes there's no coming back from that. If I'm going to do it, I want to regulate it and I want it monitored just for safety's sake."

The case is also fighting for the governments acknowledgment of patients' rights to life, liberty and security. In reply, Health Canadas media relations officer said they are deeply concerned about the burden of mental illness on Canadians and aware that psilocybin is being studied worldwide for its potential to treat several conditions including anxiety, depression, PTSD and substance use disorders.

Health Canada's media relations officer,Marie-Pier Burelle further clarified: "Each request for an exemption... is reviewed on a case-by-case basis, taking into account all relevant considerations, including evidence of potential benefits and risks or harms to Canadians."

Photo by sebastiaan stam on Unsplash

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Canada: 100+ Healthcare Professionals Protest Psilocybin Access Ban For Psychedelics-Assisted Therapy Training - Benzinga

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Interest in psychedelics has grown significantly as mainstream acceptance grows andresearch uncovers more of the benefitsthat these substances possess, including how they can be used to manage a range of mental health disorders. These positive advancements have even led some states to decriminalize these controlled substances, with other states set to legalize the substances in the near future.

Lets look at some of the states that

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States That Have Made Advancements Toward Legalizing Psychedelics - StreetInsider.com

Partnership is a unique opportunity to showcase Canada as a clinical and cultivation mecca

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 13, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Optimi Health Corp. (CSE: OPTI) (OTCQX: OPTHF) (FRA: 8BN) (Optimi or the Company), a homegrown, Canadian company cultivating and synthesizing high quality psychedelics and natural functional and psilocybin mushroom strains for transformational human experiences, is pleased to announce that it has finalized a supply agreement with Bloom Psychedelic Therapy And Research Centre (Bloom), a Calgary-based provider of mental health services, including psychedelic-assisted therapies employing ketamine treatments.

Our Supply Agreement with Bloom solidifies another key relationship for Optimi, said CEO Bill Ciprick. Their position as therapeutic practitioners, as well as their work in conducting the kind of clinical trials necessary to advance regulatory outcomes for psychedelic medicines, make them ideal partners in alignment with Optimis strategic goals.

Optimi will supply Bloom with sufficient biomass of natural psilocybin to begin conducting its previously announced clinical trial in partnership with the IMPACT Clinical Trial Accelerator Program housed within Albertas Life Sciences Innovation Hub at the University of Calgary.

The proposed phase I dosing study will aim to find the optimal microdose or low dose of psilocybin that provides general enhancements to mood, memory, sleep, and other measures of general well-being without any hallucinogenic effects.

Bloom Founder and CEO, Jim Parker, says the partnership between Bloom and Optimi provides an incredible opportunity to measure true GMP-produced, Canadian-sourced natural psilocybin.

Regulatory bodies in Canada and across the world are watching Canadas fledgling psychedelics industry and how it performs in quality, safety, and efficacy, said Parker. So, I see this as an early watershed moment where good therapeutic practices, combined with Optimis Canadian-GMP-grade natural psilocybin, could establish Canada as a real leader amongst those wanting to learn from us.

Since the completion of its combined 20,000 square feet of psilocybin cultivation and production facilities in Princeton, British Columbia, Optimi has pursued a revenue-focused strategy of clinical therapeutic and research partnerships with the intention of developing logistical channels that will underpin the future of the psychedelics industry.

To echo Jims perspective on Canada defining itself as a leader in psychedelics, I believe the more Optimi produces, tests, and supplies trials and patients across the country, the more well be able to establish the benchmarks needed to develop a true cultivation mecca in Canada and eventually the world, added Ciprick.

Authorized parties interested in purchasing Optimi psilocybin and functional mushroom products, MDMA, or other synthetic psychedelics are invited to contact sales@optimihealth.ca where a member of the sales team will respond within 24 hours.

ABOUT OPTIMI (CSE: OPTI) (OTCQX: OPTHF) (FRA: 8BN)

Optimi Health Corp. is a homegrown, Canadian success story aiming to be the number one trusted, compassionate supplier of safe, natural, EU-GMP psilocybin and functional mushrooms across the world. Built with the purpose of producing scalable, natural mushroom formulations for transformational human experiences, the Companys 20,000 sq ft of state-of-the-art, technologically advanced in-house production and research facilities cultivate, test, and synthesize high quality mushroom strains and psychedelic substances such as MDMA.

Based in Princeton, British Columbia, Optimi is developing a robust and innovative IP portfolio through its Health Canada psilocybin Dealers License.

Optimis vision is to unlock the regenerative power of mushrooms, promote psychedelic science, and set the highest standard of trusted, GMP operational excellence in the world.

Optimis promise is to make possible a future whereby natural psychedelic alternatives aid a wide variety of mental health conditions.

ABOUT BLOOM PSYCHEDELIC THERAPY AND RESEARCH CENTRE

The Bloom Psychedelic Therapy and Research Centre is a world-class research centre committed to furthering the science supporting the use of psychedelics for depression, suicidal ideation, anxiety, PTSD, and chronic pain. We are pleased to house the University of Calgarys first research chair committed to this endeavor. The Parker Psychedelic Research Chair led out of the Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education at the Hotchkiss Brain Institute in the Cumming School of Medicine, is furthering important research into alternative therapies for mental health.

FOR INTERVIEW REQUESTS OR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Investor Relations Michael Kydd Email: investors@optimihealth.caPhone: +1 (902) 880 6121 http://www.optimihealth.ca

FORWARDLOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains forwardlooking statements and forwardlooking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation (collectively, forwardlooking statements) that relate to Optimis current expectations and views of future events. Any statements that express, or involve discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, through the use of words or phrases such as will likely result, are expected to, expects, will continue, is anticipated, anticipates, believes, estimated, intends, plans, forecast, projection, strategy, objective, and outlook) are not historical facts and may be forwardlooking statements and may involve estimates, assumptions and uncertainties which could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in such forwardlooking statements. No assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forwardlooking statements included in this news release should not be unduly relied upon. These statements speak only as of the date of this news release. In particular and without limitation, this news release contains forward looking statements pertaining to activities proposed to be conducted under the Companys dealers license and associated business related to Psilocybin and Psilocin and Optimis plans, focus and objectives.

Forwardlooking statements are based on a number of assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Optimis control, which could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those that are disclosed in or implied by such forwardlooking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the impact and progression of the COVID19 pandemic and other factors set forth under ForwardLooking Statements and Risk Factors in the Companys Annual information Form dated January 12, 2022, and other continuous disclosure filings available under Optimis profile at http://www.sedar.com. Optimi undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forwardlooking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for Optimi to predict all of them or assess the impact of each such factor or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forwardlooking statement.

Any forwardlooking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

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Optimi Health Finalizes Psilocybin Supply Agreement With Bloom Psychedelic Therapy And Research Centre - Marketscreener.com