The Relationship Between Naturalistic Psychedelic Use and Clinical Care in Canada

Introduction

Glynos and colleagues situate their study in the context of rising public and clinical interest in psychedelic substances and psychedelic-assisted therapies, alongside growing naturalistic use in North America. The introduction notes promising clinical trial results for psilocybin and MDMA in conditions such as major depressive disorder, substance dependence and PTSD, while also describing rising population-level use of hallucinogens. The authors highlight parallels with cannabis, where rapid changes in legal status outpaced clinician preparedness, and they argue that Canada may face a similar mismatch between naturalistic psychedelic use and the readiness of healthcare systems and providers. The study set out to examine how Canadians who report past psychedelic use interact with conventional healthcare. Specifically, the investigators assessed whether people disclosed psychedelic use to primary healthcare providers (HCPs), reasons for disclosure or non-disclosure, perceived HCP knowledge about psychedelics, frequency of clinical or therapist-guided psychedelic use, awareness and use of substance testing services or kits, and self-reported therapeutic use and outcomes. Based on prior U.S. findings, the authors hypothesised that Canadian patterns would show limited integration with healthcare and low awareness and utilisation of substance testing. They also explored demographic and use-related factors associated with (1) disclosure to a primary HCP and (2) awareness of testing services.