Canada has become one of the few countries that allows consumption of psychedelic mushrooms to people who have depression and other mental illness. The psychedelic mushrooms contain an active ingredient called Psilocybin, which is illegal to produce, possess, and sell in Canada and mostly the only exception is for approved research purposes.
However, this year, Health Canada granted exemptions to people with terminal illnesses, allowing them to possess and consume shrooms, reports Vice.
67-year-old Mona Strelaeff living in Victoria, British Colombia, said she was granted an exemption to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act allowing her to consume shrooms to treat her mental illness. Speaking to Vice, Mona said that she has struggled with anxiety, depression, and addiction for years. Talking about her mushroom consumption, Mona said that during her psilocybin therapy, she went deep, way back to when she was a little girl and all those things that happened to her.
All the unresolved trauma of Mona came back and she was beyond terrified, shaking uncontrollably, and crying. Mona said she suffers from extreme sense of despair and depression while in remission from breast cancer diagnosed 12 years ago.
Some of her trauma was related to her cancer, which has now been treated, while some of it stemmed from repressed thoughts from childhood. However, with the help of psilocybin therapy, she says she has conquered those tough memories and after a while realized that she is not scared anymore.
According to TheraPsil, a non-profit that advocates for psychedelic therapy in end-of-life care in Canada, Mona’s exemption also gives way for more shrooms-based therapies in the country. According to Psychology Today, psilocybin has demonstrated modest, and even promising results in clinical trials for the treatment of addiction, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and death anxiety.
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