Starting point. The legal psychedelics industry is still in its infancy. Only in recent years has mainstream medicine used psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin, MDMA, and LSD to treat physical and mental health problems, including alcohol use disorder, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. As such, Psychedelics Canada was established to help members navigate the regulatory and business processes of the emerging industry. The trade association is open to for-profit companies in the field of legal psychedelics.
“A lot of companies in this space are just getting started,” said Nicolas Kadish, chairman of the board of Psychedelics Canada and CEO of Pharm Ala Biotech. “Most companies are accruals before revenues, but one thing we all agree on is that we are in a highly regulated industry. We thought that together we could talk to the government and better get the regulatory and government priorities we need to grow the industry.
Early work. At this time, the organization is focused on two things: control concerns and informing the public about psychedelics.
“A big priority is for us to promote the psychedelic industry to the government at the federal and state level,” Kadish said. In that area, he noted, the organization is seeking to promote research that supports the use of psychiatrists, encourage government clinical trials, and provide support for physicians to appoint psychiatrists.
With regard to the community, the association seeks to assist in the dissemination of information about the use of psychiatrists in medical settings. “It’s still new,” Kadish said. I think people generally don’t know anything about these treatments, so we have a lot of work to do to promote ourselves first and educate people second.
Next steps. Beyond previous work, the group’s long-term goals include ensuring its members do business across Canada.
“It’s bringing the different molecules in the psychedelic category back to legalization, treatment, and then payment,” Kadish said. “The key is to make sure that insurers will pay for these drugs if they are approved and approved.”
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