The psychedelic renaissance brings life to the dying: why Bill C-7 (MAiD) should be amended
Although few Canadians may have heard of Thomas Hartle, he recently made an historic contribution to end-of-life care in Canada. Mr. Hartle is the first palliative Canadian to ever receive an exemption to access psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy to ease his end-of-life distress.
In an August webinar hosted by national advocacy group, TheraPsil, Mr. Hartle described his “spiritual” experience with psilocybin as “relaxing, peaceful and beyond words.” A few minutes and 19 words later, he said something that forever changed the way I view psychedelic-therapy. He said:
“I was being dragged by a horse called Cancer towards a cliff called death, but psilocybin stopped the horse.”
Having lost my parents several years ago, both to terminal illnesses, I could only imagine how much they would have benefited from such an epiphanic experience in their dying weeks. The old cliché, “if we only knew then what we know now” is one that is not lost on me.
If medically prescribed psychedelic therapy, one which brought Hartle relief in his process of dying, sounds rational and dignified, then you are not alone. More and more Canadians are awakening to the psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy renaissance, and they want access to it in dying as much as they need it in mental health and addictions treatment.
This is why Bill C-7 – Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) is so important. Almost 100 briefings and 70 Justice and Human Rights Committee witnesses later, Parliament is set to ratify MAiD by the end of 2020. While the MAiD legislation has been the subject of much debate, there is a growing consensus on all sides that government should further amend Bill C-7 to allow for other options for end-of-life care, namely psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy.
The reason is clear: palliative and end-of-life Canadians who choose MAiD rightfully deserve the choice to end their lives with dignity. Canadians opposed to MAiD in conscience, or who choose to face their mortality in palliative comfort, should be afforded the same dignity as their choice is to preserve the little quality-of-life they have left.
What psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy offers is a common ground solution. It relieves the moral death wish versus quality-of-life dilemma, the physical suffering versus mental distress outcome, by putting patient and family first. Unencumbered by depression, anxiety, and PTSD in their remaining months, weeks and days, the patient emerges spiritually and emotionally reborn, perhaps more alive than they have ever been. Is that not the goal here? Easing the mind in preparation for death makes it a process, not just an end decision.
The research on end-of-life-distress (EOLD) is astounding, which is why government must offer Canadians more compassion, dignity, and freedom to manage their end-of-life decisions through Bill C-7.
First, EOLD is identified as a primary reason why individuals pursue medical assistance in dying. Psychological suffering and existential distress are common among cancer patients approaching end-of-life as well as others experiencing terminal illness. Patients report feelings of hopelessness, loss of autonomy, poor relationships, and general lack of purpose.
Second, EOLD is associated with poor treatment and psychological outcomes, including decreased medication adherence, diminished quality of life, an increased desire for hastened death and higher rates of suicide.
With the imminent passage of Bill C-7, there is an opportunity for government to address these issues during the Bill C-7 Regulatory Review. Health Canada is on an unsustainable path as it navigates case-by-case medical exemptions for “qualified” palliative Canadians. They are resource intensive, and, due to the inequality created in our health care system, open our government up to potential legal challenges in the future.
Health Canada should make it a priority to work with the Justice Department to amend the Act during the Regulatory Review, otherwise the goodwill and progress made in helping brave Canadians like Thomas Hartle could be jeopardized.
Of course, palliative Canadians do not have the luxury of time. With the Bill C-7 Regulatory Review scheduled in the new year, we need federal politicians to put any preconceived notions about psychedelics aside and support Canadians’ last rights. It starts with the full legalization of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy.
