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home / 世界杯决赛2022

b.c. magic mushroom grower hopes to eventually supply alberta psychedelic clinics

the psychoactive mushrooms have shown promise in treating mental illness and those in palliative care

by bill kaufmann
published oct 16, 2022
read time 4 minute read
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read time 4 minute read
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b.c. psilocybin producer optimi health is in talks with the alberta government to become the province’s supplier for the substance in use in palliative care and in treating mental illness. supplied image/michael kydd
a b.c. psilocybin producer is hoping alberta’s decision to regulate psychedelics therapy will eventually mushroom into contracts supplying the province’s clinics with the tightly-regulated medicine. the ceo of optimi health, which produces the psychoactive mushrooms which have shown promise in treating mental illness and those in palliative care, said he’s been in discussion with alberta government officials to possibly contribute to that field.
“we’d like to help them with the framework on how it’ll work, how do you secure a safe supply, and how do we fit in,” said bill ciprick, adding his company has also set its sights on producing mdma and lsd for clinical use.
last week, associate minister of mental health and addictions mike ellis announced the province would be the first in canada to regulate therapists who employ psychedelics, to ensure they’re licensed and meet qualification standards.
it also introduces penalties to deter unlicensed practitioners.
officials with his office spoke with optimi health earlier this week, with a spokesman for ellis saying it was useful to better comprehend a still-fledgling field.
“as it emerges, it’s definitely important to understand what’s happening,” said eric engler.
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“we anticipate as things move forward and schedules in (employing) psychedelics change, we want to be ready.”
since last week’s announcement, ellis’s office has been deluged with inquiries about the new regulations and the possible expansion of the use of psychedelics, which currently are largely limited to anesthetic and hallucinogen ketamine in non-palliative therapy.
but he said his office has made it clear to therapists, advocates and potential suppliers that approval for the use of controlled substances like psilocybin and mdma are the jurisdiction of health canada, while the province can regulate practitioners’ qualifications.
“we’ve had no conversations about the supply side … we’re not buying (these psychedelics),” said engler, adding psychedelic treatment will remain in the private sector for the foreseeable future.
but it’s hoped the province’s move to regulate the practice will elevate patient safety and deter those conducting unsafe, underground therapy sessions.
“our goal is to ensure patient protection from bad actors who could take advantage of patients who are in a mentally-altered state,” said engler.
for now, the use of drugs like psilocybin for non-palliative therapy and research into them requires a special exemption granted by health canada — something alberta therapists say is rarely granted.
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b.c. psilocybin producer optimi health is in talks with the alberta government to become the province’s supplier for the substance in use in palliative care and in treating mental illness.
b.c. psilocybin producer optimi health is in talks with the alberta government to become the province’s supplier for the substance in use in palliative care and in treating mental illness. supplied image/michael kydd
but optimi’s ciprick and some clinic operators say they’re hopeful alberta’s new regulatory stance will push other provinces to take similar measures that would prod health canada into widening the use of psychedelics to treat afflictions like ptsd, depression and opioid dependency.
“we hope it’s a positive step — it’d be admirable for the alberta government to push this,” said ciprick, whose product is currently used in research and other federally-exempted applications.
he noted that now, therapists granted health canada permission to employ psilocybin must source it from black market suppliers even as his pharmaceutical-grade fungi are banned from use.
“i can literally walk around the corner here in vancouver and buy a bag of (illicit) mushrooms in a storefront shop and there’s no enforcement,” he said.
optimi operates 6,000 square feet of psilocybin growing space in a facility in princeton, b.c. that has the potential of producing 1,000 kilograms of the drug per month, said ciprick.
the fungi are nurtured in rye grain in a highly-sanitized environment, with each batch taking six weeks to reach maturity.
a dose of 2.5 grams of the mushrooms, he said, would produce “a really great trip that would take off close to the moon.”
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the plant has grown single mushrooms massive enough to produce four grams of psilocybin “that could probably get you to jupiter, not just the moon.”
but he said it’s important to emphasize that its proper use — to increase the flexibility of a patient’s mind to enhance healing — is overseen by qualified therapists in the hours-long sessions.
and he said potent, illegal psychoactive drug mdma could be closer to a wider clinical application than other psychedelics due to the body of research around it.
“we always intended to synthesize pharmaceutical-grade mdma — there’s a shortage of supply,” said ciprick.
bill ciprick, ceo of optimi health.
bill ciprick, ceo of optimi health. supplied image/michael kydd
the operator of a clinic that employs ketamine welcomes alberta’s regulations, predicting they’re a model that’ll be followed across canada and could ultimately spur the approval of psychedelics like mdma.
“i think we’re on the cusp of something — it’s very much in line with how we hoped and expected things would be going,” said dr. peter silverstone, ceo of edmonton-based zylorion health.
“it sets up a framework that’s really good.”
neuroscientist silverstone said he also hopes psychedelic treatment will eventually be covered under public health-care insurance, considering many prospective patients see it as unaffordable.
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but the alberta government’s engler said that prospect isn’t yet on the horizon in an area of medicine that still requires considerable research.
“it’s still a very emerging field — those decisions will be made over time as we know more about it,” he said.
other therapists say that while the treatments show considerable promise, more research on psychedelics is required before the doors are thrown open to them. and those studies, they note, are happening widely.
“i don’t think we have enough data to loosen things up,” said dr. robert tanguay, provincial medical lead, alberta addictions education, who also operates the newly institute.
“what the province’s move does is set the stage for further research and reduces some of the stigma around it.”
optimi health’s ciprick said he doesn’t foresee the recreational legalization of psychedelics that was granted by ottawa to cannabis nearly four years ago.
their unpredictable effects, he said, will continue to warrant “a safe, controlled way” for their use in solely clinical settings.
health canada didn’t comment after being contacted on the issue by postmedia.
bkaufmann@postmedia.com
twitter: @billkaufmannjrn

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