after finding some relief in medical cannabis, he became interested in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. then he went through six sessions of ketamine therapy at field trip’s toronto clinic .
advertisement
ketamine can induce a “transpersonal dissociative experience,” where the sense of self extends beyond the individual to “ encompass wider aspects of humankind, life, psyche or cosmos .”
it works in a way that’s similar to other psychedelic therapies, by taking consumers out of their “default mode network,” dr. michael verbora, the medical director for field trip toronto told the growthop last year.
a 2019 study published in the annals of clinical psychiatry tracked the efficacy of treating 30 u.s. military veterans with combat-related ptsd with six one-hour long ketamine infusions. participants self-reported changes in symptoms of depression, ptsd and substance use prior to the first and last infusion. over the six sessions, symptoms of depression were nearly halved and symptoms of ptsd also dropped significantly. self-reported substance use also trended down during the study period.
advertisement
a few months before that study was published, the u.s. food and drug administration approved a new antidepressant for the first time in decades, a nasal spray that mimics the effects of ketamine.
other psychedelic wellness companies, like vancouver-based delic, also offer ketamine therapy programs designed for veterans. earlier this month, the company announced partnerships between veterans administration community care networks of illinois and minnesota and its ketamine wellness centers, offering ketamine treatments to veterans at no out-of-pocket cost .
in july, toronto-based braxia scientific corp., a medical research company, announced that it is now able to offer 100 per cent coverage of oral, nasal spray and intravenous ketamine treatments, plus travel costs, for qualifying canadian military veterans .
advertisement
“we’ve seen incredible responses from the military veterans that we’ve served in toronto and many of those individuals that came to toronto are based in and around fredericton,” he told the growthop in late september. “so we decided to open up in fredericton to make it more accessible to the military population there.”
advertisement
as he speaks, he’s walking along santa monica boulevard in los angeles, where he’s attending codecon, a tech development conference. in the days ahead, levy will make headlines when he asks elon musk if he supports psychedelics for therapeutic purposes.
advertisement
this is despite the fact that many psychedelic therapies, such as psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy, involve using substances that remain illegal and are difficult to access. in january, atkinson applied to the federal government for a section 56 exemption to the controlled drugs and substances act so he could legally pursue psilocybin therapy. he says he has yet to hear back.