Canada’s History Of Psychedelic Research
In 2022, it’s no exaggeration to say that Canada has become a leading center for psychedelic research. This is not a new phenomenon, however; important work on this fascinating class of drugs has been carried out here for years.
In the 1950s, two isolated places were home to groundbreaking psychedelic research. In Saskatchewan, scientists discovered how LSD could be used to help treat mental health issues, and in New Westminster, BC, researchers discovered how LSD could be used to improve creativity and spiritual experiences.
Dr. Erica Dyck is the leading expert on Canada’s psychedelic history, and her work has been extensively studied by academics worldwide.
Dr. Jane is an eminent authority on psychedelic therapy, and her latest book is a must-read for anyone interested in the subject. Her extensive research background and prolific writing skills make her a respected voice in the field.
Hollywood Hospital is a world-renowned psychedelic clinic that has been providing supervised LSD trips for over six decades. It is still the longest-running psychedelic clinic in the world.
Socialism makes Saskatchewan an ‘ideological magnet’ in the 1940s
The election of Saskatchewan’s first socialist government in 1944 attracted international researchers, paving the way for experimentation with LSD.
Tommy Douglas, the newly elected provincial leader, has pledged to make healthcare available to all residents of Saskatchewan. This is a major commitment, and we hope that he can live up to it.
Under his leadership, healthcare reforms that are aggressive began to unfold.
During the Depression, many middle-class professionals left the province, so part of the healthcare reforms was a concerted recruitment effort into Saskatchewan and the healthcare sector.
He put out ads in a variety of places looking for people with a combined interest in research and healthcare reform. Saskatchewan became a perfect place for people with a research-intensive focus on healthcare reforms – it’s a magnet for them.
The ads caught the attention of professionals like Dr. Humphry Osmond, a British psychiatrist who had studied hallucinogenic drugs and psychotic disorders in London.
He moved to Saskatchewan in 1951 to take on a challenging role as the director of the Weyburn Mental Hospital, one of the most overcrowded institutions in North America.
The asylum had a reputation for poor treatment, but Osmond was determined to offer patients better care.
He got to work with Dr. Abram Hoffer, a biochemist and psychiatrist who was working for the Saskatchewan Department of Public Health. They share the same enthusiasm for improving psychiatric healthcare in the province.
Both Hoffer and his wife experimented with LSD together, and they found its potential to be amazing. Hoffer was inspired to try it after learning about its benefits from Al Hubbard, an entrepreneur and early proponent of the drug.
In Saskatchewan, Osmond and Hoffer explored the potential benefits of psychedelic drugs like LSD and mescaline on mental health, as well as their effects on alcohol abuse. Their research shows that these substances can be helpful in treating a variety of mental health issues, and may even help those struggling with alcohol addiction.
Osmond and Hoffer conducted sessions at a variety of locations across the province, and although their methods may not be up to today’s scientific standards, they were able to show that administering LSD to patients with alcohol use disorder leads to better health outcomes.
Together, these researchers administered LSD to 2,000 patients with success. Their results showed that two years after receiving the treatment, 50 to 90 percent of patients had fully recovered from alcohol use disorder. Other researchers quickly became interested in their work and in the potential benefits of this exciting new compound.
Hollywood Hospital records reveal patients sought psychedelic treatment for trauma, marital discord, and same-sex attraction
In Saskatchewan, Osmond and Hoffer worked with patients at public healthcare facilities, while Dr. MacLean planned to open a private hospital in New Westminster, B.C. This shows how different the approaches are to psychedelic therapy, demonstrating the diversity of options available to patients.
Hollywood Hospital has a long history of being known for its alcohol use disorder treatment program. In 1957, MacLean teamed up with LSD proponent Hubbard, who at the time was the only licensed LSD importer in Canada. Soon after, Hollywood Hospital started offering LSD treatments to its patients.
Not only are patients seeking LSD treatment for alcohol use disorder, but they are also seeking to overcome anxiety, depression, and even marital discord.
Though they were located in different provinces, the teams in Saskatchewan and New Westminster were very connected: They shared a lot of correspondence, they shared supplies, and they also shared protocols or guidelines for dosing and how to set up the treatment rooms.
Dyck used hospital records to write The Acid Room. After she digitized them for the B.C. Museum and Archives, they were released from a private collection.
According to Dyck, the use of LSD in New Westminster’s private Hollywood Hospital was more about financial opportunity than healthcare reform.
“A lot of the patients seemed to be referred through social services. My impression from looking through the files was that this was a private hospital, but they were struggling to collect payments,” she said. .
This was an opportunity to help our finances, while also fulfilling MacLean’s goals of embracing new chemical compounds.
Most patients were charged between $600 and $1,000 for treatments.
At the time, there were rumours that celebrity patients were travelling to New Westminster for treatment at Hollywood Hospital, including actor Cary Grant and singer Andy Williams. However, Dyck says she couldn’t find any records of their treatment.
“There were some interesting people there, but not the ones I’d read about in the papers,” Dyke said.
Hollywood Hospital may have been best known for its treatment of alcohol use disorder, but Dyck’s research shows that patients receive treatment for a wide range of traumas.
I found the star-studded power to be fascinating, but what really struck me was the diversity of experiences represented in this group. From Holocaust survivors to people exploring same-sex attraction, this group has something to offer everyone.
Indigenous ceremonies used to bridge clinical and spiritual experiences with plant-based healing
At the time, researchers were curious about the physiological effects of mescaline and LSD, as well as the nature of Indigenous ceremonies in which the consumption of hallucinogenic plant medicines like peyote was central.
When a chapter of the Native American Church was recognized near North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Osmond and three other white scientists were invited to participate in a ceremonial peyote ceremony hosted by the Red Pheasant Band. Their reports on the experience were shared with the federal government.
Osmond appreciated the ceremonial setting and context and began borrowing concepts from ceremonies to improve his treatment room, like dimming the lights and playing music.
“You see this time of this real fascination with these intersections between spirituality, indigenous knowledge and herbal healing, but at the same time Western medicine is pushing towards these very reductionist categories,” Dyck explained.
In 1952, the Diagnostics and Statistical Manual was published, providing a new model of psychiatric disorders and putting the focus on individual symptoms. This shift was a major step forward in the development of psychiatric knowledge.
At the same time, some of the first psychiatric pharmaceuticals for these conditions were being marketed to the public. This isolated view was at odds with the experience of participating in a ceremony, which might involve the use of several different plants, musical instruments, and singing, said Dyck.
Psychedelics are part of the pharmacological revolution, but they also offer a different way of understanding and using medication.
The tension between using Indigenous practices and methods and non-Indigenous methods has had a big impact on how Indigenous practices are thought of and discussed today.
Conclusion
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