Canadian Armed Forces Veterans are demanding access to psychedelic medicines to treat mental health issues related to their service to the country, and a majority of Canadians are behind them.
Kelsi Sheren, a veteran, podcaster and advocate for veterans’ mental health, criticized the Liberal government for inaction and harmful policies during a House of Commons committee meeting last Tuesday on reducing suicide among Canadian Armed Forces veterans.
In her opening testimony, Sheren lambasted the government and MPs for failing to track suicide numbers among veterans and armed forces members, and for offering euthanasia through its Medical Assistance in Dying program.
She also noted the government has failed to deliver promised funding for psychedelic research and for the barriers preventing veterans from accessing potentially life-affirming treatments such as psychedelic therapy, including psilocybin mushroom therapy.
“While you fund deaths and continue to expand (MAiD) in 2027, you deny life-saving treatments… psychedelic-assisted therapy, let’s take that; a proven, peer-reviewed study and treatment to treat PTSD and depression,” she said. “Other nations across the globe not only study it, but successfully use it, and Canada continues to bury it in red tape.”
Sheren credits the treatment for saving her life after she struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder and treatment-resistant depression due to her service in Afghanistan.
“I am the only person in Canadian history to legally receive medical psilocybin outside of a clinical trial. Before I was approved, Health Canada offered me electroshock therapy,” she said, before turning to retired Cpl. Christine Gauthier, who was offered MAiD and similarly offered electroshock therapy. “I am so sorry. They offered that to you, don’t you dare (undergo electroshock therapy.”
Sheren accused the government of preferring to “electrocute somebody who has traumatic brain injuries instead of offering me a plant.”
“One of the reasons I’m alive, and the only reason I’m alive, is because APEX labs fought through the extremely difficult Special Access Program, not this government. They actually did everything they could to stop me,” she said. “Every treatment that has helped me has come from outside of Canada, except for Dr. Greg Passy in Vancouver, paid for by Americans like Heroic Hearts Project, Defenders of Freedom and private donors, not this government.”
At the end of the hour, Sheren raised her voice as the committee was about to cut off her time to list a host of ways MPs could work to prevent more suicides among the CAF.
“Two years ago, you said you were going to give us funding for psychedelic-assisted research. You said that we had the proof. You said we had the evidence. Give us the next step,” she said.
She also called on the government to stop offloading health insurance for veterans to Manulife, provide caseworkers who speak an official language, and stop over-prescribing medications while preventing access to therapies that don’t require patients to take pills multiple times a day.
“You need to stop giving us case managers that don’t speak English. I’m not exaggerating. I’m not kidding. We will not answer the phone to them. They are triggering as hell,” she said. “You need to stop over-prescribing pharmaceutical drugs. Ketamine does not work long-term. You need to start looking at things like physical fitness, actual community, diet and exercise. Stop doing SSRIs. They are damaging.”
This comes days after psychedelic medicine advocates, including veterans, were in Ottawa calling on the government to lift red tape, compensate veterans who have paid out of pocket for psychedelic therapies and deliver on its promised research commitments.
“Numerous landmark scientific studies show psychedelic therapy can outperform first-line treatments for depression, anxiety, addiction and PTSD, offering durable, intermittent care instead of a daily pill for life,” Liam Bedard, executive director of PsyCan, said during the press conference.
Bedard provided an Abacus Data poll to True North showing that 51 per cent of Canadians support allowing the use of natural psilocybin medicines, or “magic mushrooms,” under medical supervision for therapeutic purposes to veterans, first responders and others to treat depression, addiction, PTSD and end-of-life anxiety.
Liberal voters were the most likely to support access to psychedelic therapy for mental health, with 57 per cent in agreement. Conservatives were the least likely, but 47 per cent still said it should be available, while 55 per cent of NDP voters supported access.
The survey of 1,504 Canadians was statistically weighted according to census data to represent Canada’s demographics. A random sample of the same size has a margin of error no greater than 2.53%, 19 times out of 20.