Canadian Government Will Respond To Psychedelics Decriminalization Petition

The Canadian government will have to officially respond to a petition calling for the decriminalization of psychedelics after it garnered nearly 15,000 signatures—and there’s legislation in the works that could make the policy change happen.

The petition, which is not binding but must be sponsored by a member of Parliament, discusses the historical use of entheogenic plants and fungi and the therapeutic potential of those substances.

It states that the government should “immediately discontinue enforcement of statutes or regulations that prohibit or impose onerous restrictions on informed adult use, growing, or sharing of any plant or fungi, where an established record of traditional use exists.”

Additionally, legislators should amend federal drug laws to “distinguish and exempt these organisms when used for therapeutic practices, as adjuncts to medical care, for healing ceremonies or solitary spiritual growth and self-development,” it says.