International Journal of Drug Policy
July 6, 2026
Sarah Kratina, Robert Schwartz, Carol Strike et al.
Canada's evolving attitudes toward psychedelic interventions in palliative and end-of-life care reflect a departure from historically prohibitionist policies and an emerging recognition of their therapeutic potential for individuals facing end-of-life distress. This shift parallels international regulatory developments in jurisdictions such as the United States, Australia and parts of Europe,...
Social science & medicine (1982)
February 1, 2026
Sarah Kratina, Carol Strike, Robert Schwartz et al.
Psychedelic substances are recognized for their potential to ease psychological suffering linked to end-of-life issues, yet policy remains restrictive. The wide range of both substances and therapeutic approaches used in end-of-life populations has not been adequately covered by reviews to date. To identify and learn from the variety that exists within the research on therapeutic psychedelic...
Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
January 30, 2026
Veronica Magar, Marlena Robbins, Óscar Martín López Fernández Lobo Blanco et al.
1 citation
Indigenous Peoples have cultivated and protected natural psychoactive medicines through ceremony, kinship, and spiritual responsibility across generations, yet their long-standing contributions have often been marginalized through extractive research, commercialization, and policy exclusion. It is Indigenous communities that have stewarded and gained expertise working with psychoactive...
Politics & Policy
January 24, 2026
Sarah Kratina, Robert Schwartz, Carol Strike et al.
2 citations
ABSTRACT Psychedelic interventions are not publicly available through Canada's healthcare system. Despite growing scientific evidence, public interest, and efforts to expand access to psychedelic therapies for end‐of‐life psychological suffering, Canadian policies remain restrictive. Efforts are underway to expand access, but knowledge gaps exist regarding the policy landscape in Canada. This...
General Hospital Psychiatry
2026
David T. Kryszajtys, Carol Strike, Brian Rush et al.
1 citation
Some individuals interpret persistent depression and anxiety, alongside the exhaustion of standard treatment options, as leading to a desperate need for relief. While desperation may shape how people assess treatment options, its role in psychedelic self-treatment and its relevance for emerging clinical models of psychedelic treatment remain underexplored. We collected discussion threads from...
Substance use & addiction journal
2026
Olivia Marcus, Brian Rush
There is an increasing interest in the use of psychedelics for the treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs) and to improve overall health and wellbeing. We aimed to update and complement research syntheses that have focused only on results from clinical trials by synthesizing the research across diverse methods to discuss implications from a broad and multi-faceted literature. We conducted a...
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
January 24, 2025
Cecile Giovannetti, Anja Loizaga-Velder, Ricardo Campoy Gomez et al.
5 citations
Abstract Background The Yaqui Intercultural Medicine Clinic was established in 2020 to provide accessible, culturally-attuned treatment for substance use and mental health disorders among an Indigenous Yaqui community in Mexico. The treatment program integrates ayahuasca ceremonies and psychotherapeutic support within a community-based outpatient treatment service. This observational pilot...
PLoS One
2025
Sarah Kratina, Carol Strike, Robert Schwartz et al.
1 citation
Psychedelic substances are increasingly recognized for their therapeutic potential to ease psychological suffering linked to end-of-life issues. However, amid renewed scientific and public interest, policy remains restrictive. Existing reviews have made progress in synthesizing the results of studies of psychedelic interventions, especially psilocybin, and particularly with regard to their...
Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs
September 1, 2024
Brian Rush, Olivia Marcus, Sara García et al.
12 citations
This article focuses on the outcomes at 1 year post-treatment of a naturalistic evaluation of services provided through the Takiwasi Centre, an accredited Peruvian therapeutic community offering an ayahuasca-assisted, integrative treatment program for addiction rehabilitation. Participants (n = 52) completed structured interviews and a battery of validated instruments. Outcome measures included...
International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction
April 1, 2024
Doris Payer, Sukhpreet Klaire, Dominique Morisano et al.
4 citations
The field of psychedelics is in an important era, with a significant focus on the potential role of psychedelic compounds in the treatment of mental health and substance use disorders. In 2022, a scientific research conference was held in Toronto to bring together stakeholders from a variety of disciplines and to promote dialogue and collaboration. This Special Issue includes 8 papers based on...
International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction
April 1, 2024
David T. Kryszajtys, Jacqueline L. Bender, Brian Rush et al.
2 citations
Little is known about how people decide to use psychedelics to self-treat depression and anxiety, though the practice is growing. We explored online community discussions of members’ decisions around self-treatment with psychedelics for depression or anxiety. We used constructivist grounded theory to select and analyze 98 members’ posts across 95 discussion threads (99, 552 words) and...
October 27, 2023
Sarah Kratina, Christopher Lo, Robert Schwartz et al.
preprint
ABSTRACTBackground: Psychedelic substances are increasingly recognized for their therapeutic potential to ease psychological suffering linked to end-of-life issues. However, amid renewed scientific and public interest, policy remains restrictive. Existing reviews have made progress in synthesizing the results of studies of psychedelic interventions, especially psilocybin, and particularly with...
Healthcare policy = Politiques de sante
May 1, 2023
Sarah Kratina, Christopher Lo, Carol Strike et al.
8 citations
In Canada, the conversation to enable access to therapeutic psychedelics is under way. With recent federal initiatives, Canadians can request access to psychedelic-assisted therapies (PATs) to alleviate enduring and intolerable psychological suffering (EIPS) associated with life-threatening conditions on a case-by-case basis. The resurgence of past research concerning the therapeutic potential...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
2023
Anja Loizaga-Velder, Cecile Giovannetti, Ricardo Campoy Gomez et al.
9 citations
This paper describes three case studies from an outpatient intercultural therapeutic program founded and run by Yaqui health professionals and traditional healers to serve members of the Yaqui tribe residing in Sonora, Mexico. This pilot therapeutic program has been designed specifically for Indigenous individuals, incorporating the ceremonial use of naturally derived psychedelics in addressing...
Frontiers in Pharmacology
May 19, 2021
Brian Rush, Olivia Marcus, Sara Mallén García et al.
26 citations
The present study describes the protocol for the Ayahuasca Treatment Outcome Project (ATOP) with a special focus on the evaluation of addiction treatment services provided through Takiwasi Center, the first ATOP study site. The goal of the project is to assess treatment outcomes and understand the therapeutic mechanisms of an Ayahuasca-assisted, integrative treatment model for addiction...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
August 4, 2020
Cecile Giovannetti, Sara García Arce, Brian Rush et al.
55 citations
Recent research highlighted the therapeutic potential of ayahuasca, a psychoactive plant brew used ritually in traditional Amazonian medicine (TAM). The present study evaluates the impact of integrating ayahuasca and TAM with psychotherapy on depression and anxiety in an inpatient addiction treatment program. Male patients (N = 31) were evaluated pre and post treatment using the Beck Anxiety...
Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs
July 1, 2020
Ilana Berlowitz, Heinrich Walt, Christian Ghasarian et al.
19 citations
Our results suggest that the Amazonian medicine-based therapy attracts a diverse patient group not limited to regional residents and may be particularly appealing to more impaired SUD patients with a history of unsuccessful treatment. The sample's cultural diversity suggests an existing interest in such therapies among international SUD treatment-seeking patients. These findings are relevant in...