A new film lit up the screen at Rio Theatre on Monday night, helping to propel the psychedelic renaissance through the power of documentary filmmaking.
DOSED 2: The Trip of a Lifetime has now made another appearance in Vancouver following a previous screening at Vogue Theatre in August.
Doors opened at 5 p.m. prior to the 6:30 screening and guests had the opportunity to mingle with various members of the psychedelic community, including the team from Numinus Wellness Inc. (TSX: NUMI) (OTCQX: NUMIF) and representatives from the Vancouver Psychedelic Society and Medicinal Mushroom Dispensary.
The screening event had a full house on Monday night and many had to seek seating on the upper balcony once the chairs on the main floor had been taken. Photo by Rowan Dunne.
Read more: DOSED 2 set to premiere at Vogue Theatre in Vancouver
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The documentary film tells the story of Laurie, a terminally ill cancer patient and mother of four in her early 50s who has been granted legal access to psilocybin mushrooms through the Special Access Program (SAP) from Health Canada to help alleviate her end-of-life anxiety.
Following an immensely powerful initial experience with magic mushrooms, Laurie embarks on an incredible journey of self-discovery and healing, eventually harnessing the power of cannabis oil as well.
Renowned psychedelic community figures featured in the film included Dr. Gabor Mate, a prominent addiction specialist and author; Benjamin Lightburn, CEO of Filament Health Corp. (OTCQB: FLHLF) (NEO: FH) (FSE: 7QS); Dana Larsen, owner of the Medicinal Mushroom Dispensary; and Paul Stamets, a world-renowned mycologist and psychedelic researcher.
Through the use of medicines once considered to be unconventional, Laurie is currently fighting a winning battle with cancer and was in attendance for the Q&A following the film.
Q&A host, Director Nicholas Meyers. Photo by Rowan Dunne.
“This has been a really hard journey, but there’s a richness to life that wasn’t there before,” said Laurie.
When asked by someone in the audience if she planned on doing psilocybin again, Laurie responded by saying, “Actually, I’m doing it again in a few weeks.”
Laurie’s husband Glen was asked if he had taken a mushroom trip and he said, “Yes I have, it was the most profound thing I’ve ever experienced and one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”
Dr. Neil Barclay from Numinus contributed by adding that “It’s incredible how safe psilocybin is when you look at it as a medical doctor, it’s quite remarkable. We haven’t figured out what the lethal dose is yet, it’s estimated that you would have to eat your body weight in fresh mushrooms to die and I challenge everyone out there to consider eating 70 kilograms of any sort of mushroom, psychedelic or not.”
The audience thought that comment was quite amusing and laughter echoed throughout the theatre.
Numinus team (left to right): Hillary Strath, Director of Communications; Neil Barclay, B.C. Regional Medical Director; Sharla Drebit, Regional Director of Clinic Operations. Numinus owns a clinic right around the corner from the theatre. Photo by Rowan Dunne
“Most adverse effects that people experience with psilocybin are very manageable things,” said Barclay.
“Nausea, some people have vomiting and other psychological effects, and a lot of times as the medicine starts people can feel a sense of apprehension and anxiety. There are also experiences many confront during the psychedelic journey which can be very challenging, scary or terrifying, but a lot of people will find that those frightening experiences are in fact the things that bring them the most benefit,” he added.
“You get the journey that you need not the journey that you want,” Barclay concluded.
