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home / 世界杯决赛2022

university of calgary recruits canada's first research chair in psychedelics

the university has recruited dr. leah mayo as its parker psychedelic research chair — a first for canada

by bill kaufmann
published jun 01, 2022
read time 3 minute read
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read time 3 minute read
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the main entrance of the university of calgary. azin ghaffari / postmedia
many universities would shy away from taking a deep dive into the mysteries and potential merits of psychedelic drugs, says dr. leah mayo. but the behavioural neuroscientist said that stigma doesn’t hold sway at the university of calgary, which has recruited her as its parker psychedelic research chair, a first for canada.
“some universities are hesitant to fully back you, but in calgary we have the support of everyone,” said mayo, who spoke in a phone interview from sweden where she is researching psychiatric therapies at linköping university.
“in the u.s., there’s only one clinical trial funded and that’s for smoking cessation.”
she noted the u of c research is being funded with a $3-million donation from alumnus jim parker, adding, “it would be nice if the funding to do this kind of science was coming from government sources. this is unique.”
in october, the michigan native will begin researching the therapeutic potential of drugs like mdma and psilocybin — known as ecstasy and magic mushrooms, respectively — in treating conditions like substance dependency and ptsd.
dr. leah mayo will research the therapeutic potential of drugs such as mdma and psilocybin.
dr. leah mayo will research the therapeutic potential of drugs such as mdma and psilocybin. submitted photo
over a five-year term, her team will conduct clinical trials seeking to nail down which substances have value in treating a variety of ailments.
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some therapists in canada have already been using psychedelics in their treatments, something mayo said is understandable given some apparent merits but also potentially premature.
“it might be jumping the gun a bit,” she said. “there’s a lot of hope and hype as far as psychedelics go.
“we need to do critical studies to show how important this psychotherapy component is, what is the active ingredient, what it does. i need to know the mechanisms.”
that research will examine how psychedelics affect stress and substance-use disorders, she said, adding there is some indication the drugs can break down barriers impeding treatment, said mayo.
“the thought is psilocybin helps you break out of that habitual (substance abuse) cycle,” said mayo, who has also studied the merits of cannabinoids.
mayo’s recruitment puts the u of c at the forefront of exploring the medical potential of psychedelics, said dr. valerie taylor, head of the department of psychiatry at the cumming school of medicine.
dr. valerie taylor, head of the department of psychiatry at the cumming school of medicine.
dr. valerie taylor, head of the department of psychiatry at the cumming school of medicine. darren makowichuk / postmedia file
“it’s really thinking outside the box and we want to capitalize on potential opportunities to provide better care for our patients,” she said.
“it sets us apart as being a leader rather than a follower … (mayo) is the best person in the world in this field and she’s coming here.”
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the research could also lead to the development of other drugs useful in treating mental illness and trauma, said taylor.
“maybe we can build different drugs based on the same premise; maybe we’ll stumble onto something completely unique.
“this is the kind of science universities should be doing.”
therapists using psychedelics in their practices are hailing what they call ottawa’s liberalization last winter towards prescribing the drugs.
health canada’s change to federal regulations through what’s known as the special access program makes restricted drugs psilocybin, or magic mushrooms, and mdma more realistic alternatives to patients suffering life-threatening mental illnesses whose treatments aren’t working, say therapists who are using them in their practices.
even so, they say those changes remain somewhat constrained because they operate on a case-by-case basis.
mayo said that increasing openness to psychedelics for therapeutic use has both pros and cons.
“there’s good and bad to it. because there is this momentum that’s building, we don’t want to be wrong.”
bkaufmann@postmedia.com
twitter: @billkaufmannjrn

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