The push for legal access to psilocybin in Canada shows no signs of slowing down. Patients, advocates, and now lawmakers refuse to accept the nation’s current regulatory system.
In the country’s latest development, Conservative MP Corey Tochor of Saskatchewan introduced Bill C-286 this week. The legislation aims to authorise physicians to prescribe psilocybin and psilocin directly, removing the need for case-by-case approvals from federal bureaucrats. It would also grant priority review status to psilocybin-related drug submissions, accelerating research and regulated access.
Tochor drew inspiration from the late Thomas Hartle, a Saskatchewan father diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer. Hartle became the first Canadian to receive a legal exemption for psilocybin therapy in 2020, which brought profound relief from the anxiety of his end-of-life experience.
Despite the impact, Health Canada later revoked or delayed access, forcing him to travel abroad repeatedly. He passed away in 2024 at age 56. His story highlights a system with extremely tight regulations on a substance that continues to draw attention globally for its therapeutic potential.
At the bill’s introduction, Canadian Armed Forces veteran Josh Veinotte shared his own powerful testimony. After serving in Afghanistan in 2006 and battling PTSD, Veinotte found standard treatments ineffective. He emphasises that psilocybin-assisted therapy allowed him to process trauma, reconnect with loved ones, and rebuild his life. He now advocates for easier access so others, especially veterans, can benefit without turning to underground sources.
“For the first time in nearly fifteen years I felt peace,” Veinotte said with regard to his psilocybin experience. “I was finally able to integrate and solidify everything I had learned through the years of psychotherapy; it didn’t erase my trauma, it changed my relationship with it.”
Tochor’s push comes as psilocybin dispensaries continue to pop up in major cities across Canada. These storefronts operate in a persistent legal grey area, selling products to those seeking relief from mental and physical health issues. Police regularly raid them, seizing inventory and sometimes charging operators. Yet many, such as Vancouver’s Medicinal Mushroom Dispensary or Ontario-based “FunGuyz” locations, reopen quickly.
Congratulations to my colleague @ctochor, on introducing his compassionate Private Member's Bill (Thomas's Law) to cut the red tape around psilocybin for medical use.
This legislation would allow physicians to prescribe psilocybin and psilocin directly to help Canadians… pic.twitter.com/P1PnJm5iFr
— Lianne Rood, M.P. Middlesex-London (@Lianne_Rood) June 16, 2026
Read more: Heroic psilocybin dose has remarkable impact on Alzheimer’s patient
Advocacy groups praise the development
Non-profit organisations welcomed the news enthusiastically.
PsyCan, the trade association for Canada’s medical psychedelics sector, praised the bill for creating a clearer, regulated pathway while preserving Health Canada’s approval processes.
“At a time when communities across the country continue to face unprecedented rates of depression, anxiety, trauma, addiction, and overdose, Thomas’ Bill is an important and overdue step toward modernising Canada’s approach to medical psilocybin access while preserving evidence-based drug review,” said PsyCan Board of Directors Chair Austin Miller.
TheraPsil and Project Life Spark, which have long championed patient access and supported Hartle’s efforts, also see it as a vital step toward compassionate care grounded in evidence. TheraPsil representatives joined Tochor at a press conference in Ottawa about the proposed legislation.
“Thomas was our patient,” the organisation said on social media. “He fought for access to psilocybin while battling cancer and Health Canada cut him off. He deserved better. So do the thousands of patients still waiting.”
Tochor’s bill faces the usual hurdles for private members’ legislation, but it injects fresh energy into a national conversation on a controversial topic. Despite mounting momentum, vocal opposition and lingering scientific uncertainty persist. Critics in Canada generally argue that easing access to psilocybin through physician prescribing risks misuse, lacks sufficient long-term safety data, and could undermine rigorous regulatory oversight by bypassing Health Canada’s established approval processes.
“We can only hope this means the political ice and the stigma around these medicines are breaking,” stated Project Life Spark founder Jeremy Hudec, “and it is the start of bigger things.”
Really good to see this bill from @ctochor, and one that should command cross-partisan support and interest. This is something I have become interested in, and the research on psilocybin-assisted therapy has become really hard to ignore.
Multiple studies show how it is able to… https://t.co/yaWTZIkc9Q
— Ben Woodfinden (@BenWoodfinden) June 16, 2026
Read more: Small-scale Nature study shows psilocybin causes brain changes after one use
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