The New Alberta Psychedelic Assisted Therapy Regulations; The Impacts on Patient Access and Service Providers
Philippe Lucas PHD, President of SABI Mind
In light of recent posts, press releases, and media quotes, it has become apparent that there is a fundamental misunderstanding in regards to the new Alberta psychedelic regulations. What do these regulations imply and allow? And what are the actual impacts on patients, health care providers and clinics in Alberta? I would like to provide clarification on some of the key facets that myself and other psychedelic industry leaders have questioned around the new Alberta Psychedelic Assisted Therapy Regulations.
1. Do the new regulations permit the sale and provision of all psychedelics such as: MDMA, psilocybin, mescaline, LSD etc.?
No, the new regulations DO NOT ALLOW OR ENABLE the sale and use of currently unapproved psychedelic-assisted therapies. Ketamine is currently the only legally approved psychedelic, therefore the new Alberta psychedelic regulations only impact ketamine-assisted therapies. It is incorrect that these new regs will open up access to other unapproved psychedelic treatments like MDMA, LSD, psilocybin etc. They would only be impacted if they were approved as medicines by Health Canada, and if/when that happens over the coming years, only psychiatrists will be able to prescribe these treatments (more on this below).
Further Reading [link to Forbes article] that highlights the confusion around this point. Correction that the regulations only impact Ketamine-assisted therapy, since that's the only legal psychedelic treatment currently available. These regs DO NOT LEGALIZE or regulate MDMA, LSD or psilocybin treatments, as they are not approved yet.
2. Do the new regulations expand treatment options for patients?
No, with one minor exception: the use of IV ketamine. However, the new Provincial regulations give psychiatry the exclusive power to prescribe and oversee any psychedelic-assisted psychotherapeutic treatment, including IV and IM ketamine. Since a referral to a psychiatrist in Alberta can take 6-18 months, this decision endangers patients in need of immediate treatment. For those suffering from severe PTSD or depression, a 6-month wait may prove to be fatal.
Further Reading [link to CBC Edmonton Article] supports the need for other practitioners to be included in these regulations.
3. Do the new regulations improve access for patients?
No. Under the new Government regulations, both IV and IM ketamine-assisted psychotherapy would have to be prescribed by or in consultation with psychiatrists exclusively, as would any forthcoming psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy using MDMA, psilocybin, etc. (if/when these were approved as medical therapies by Health Canada). This is in contrast to the current status quo as regulated by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA), which allows anesthesiologists, psychiatrists, and other qualified healthcare providers to prescribe and oversee ketamine-assisted psychotherapy.
Further Reading [link to Edmonton Journal article] that expands further on how these regulations will limit patient access.
In Summary, these New Regulations do not increase access to psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy.
In fact, there are now further restrictions to access to relatively safe clinic-based psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy that put critically and chronically ill patients at greater risk, forcing them to choose between long wait times to access the very limited number of psychiatrists willing to consider such treatments, or self-medicating via illicit substances and/or unregulated practitioners. And for some patients with severe PTSD or depression, being denied rapid access to treatments may prove to be a death sentence. This is not a choice being foisted on patients in other provinces, and it’s certainly not a choice that patients with treatment-resistant mental health or chronic pain conditions in Alberta should have to make. This all could have been avoided had the Province undertaken a broad, transparent consultation that included the input of various patient groups and practitioners in developing these new regulations, but this, unfortunately, was not the case. However, there is a quick and easy solution to ensure the new government regulations don’t negatively impact patient access to psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy: the new Alberta regulations need to be amended to expand the list of who can prescribe and oversee these treatments to include “psychiatrists and other qualified health care providers, including anesthesiologist and neurologists.” This minor amendment would go a very long way in ensuring that patients-in-need in Alberta can continue to safely and legally access psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy today and in the years to come, and we look forward to working with the new Premier and Ministry of Health towards this evidence-based, patient-centered outcome.
Further Reading [link to Kata] from the Ketamine-Assisted Therapy Association of Canada that encourages regulators to consult with the experts to amend the regulations.
