Are legal psychedelic drugs inevitable?

In today’s Big Story podcast, the past few years have brought about a perfect storm of new knowledge, loosened restrictions and increased curiosity when it comes to psychoactive drugs like psilocybin mushrooms and LSD. So much so, that those who study or observe the field, are calling it the “psychedelic renaissance.”

Canada’s health landscape is changing, says Erika Dyck, the Canada Research Chair in the history of health and social justice, and author of Psychedelic Psychiatry: LSD from Clinic to Campus.

“There’s a whole psychedelic underground that kind of flirts with the law in a variety of ways, that has also been promoting the resurgence or reemergence of psychedelics in medicine,” says Dyck.

Right now, in cities like Toronto and Vancouver, you can buy psilocybin in storefront dispensaries – and although that appears to be illegal, not much is being done about it.

So how’d we get to this point? And what’s next for psychedelics?

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