A Quebec-based organization has filed an application with the Canadian federal court for an official religious exemption to consume psilocybin mushrooms during its ceremonies.
Health Canada has issued as many as eight exemptions to organizations that hold ayahuasca ceremonies. In July last year, a psychedelic church in Quebec named the Companionship of the Sacred Vine was the latest to receive official permission.
No organization serving mushrooms has received an exemption from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, nor has such an exemption been granted in the US. But, around 150 patients have accessed psilocybin legally through a federal compassionate access scheme in Canada. Some had to appeal to the courts to do so.
In Quebec, eastern Canada, the religious non-profit Gratitude Sanctuary, known in French as Sanctuaire de la Gratitude, filed documents to the federal court in early October complaining that Health Canada had failed to provide a timely response to its March 2022 application.
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The organization’s “reverend superior,” Alain Menier, claimed that consumption of psychedelic mushrooms is central to the practice of his members’ religious beliefs. People receive “their own teachings when entering the sacred space opened by the consumption of psilocybin mushrooms,” the outfit said in its application, according to the Canadian Press.
“An important (tenet) of the religion is that the mushrooms should be consumed in the safest way possible, which requires that they be consumed under strict health and safety protocols, in a controlled environment, and under trained supervision.”
“No harm will result from the minister continuing to process the exemption request,” the court application claims. “Rather, it will result in either the minister granting the request and allowing the applicants to practice their religion or the minister notifying the applicants about what more information that is needed or of the minister’s intent to refuse the request.”
Gratitude Sanctuary has reportedly shared correspondence with Health Canada during the application process, but there are no signs it is “taking steps to further the processing of the exemption request.”
A Health Canada spokesperson said: “Each request for an exemption is reviewed on a case-by-case basis, taking into account all relevant considerations, including the objectives of public health and public safety and evidence of potential benefits and risks or harms to Canadians. For non-routine exemption requests such as this, there is no set time period to render a decision. Given the matter is before the courts, the department is unable to comment on specifics further.”
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