Grant: Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

There is a growing interest among the public and research communities in Canada and abroad around the potential benefits of psychedelic substances. Often referred to as 'psychedelic-assisted therapies', there has been a re-emergence in the past 15 years of clinical trials exploring the potential of substances such as psilocybin, MDMA, and ketamine in end of life care and in the treatment of mental health (i.e, depression, anxiety, PTSD) and substance use disorders. However, inclusion criteria for clinical trials often limit the size and diversity of study participants, and thus cannot always accurately portray the effectiveness of interventions for the general population. Given the potential therapeutic benefits of psychedelic-assisted therapies, it is important to explore both the benefit and risks of these substances for the general population and for population groups under-represented in clinical trials, including visible minorities and gender diverse groups. The aim of this research is to explore population health research approaches to understand the potential benefits, harms, and equitable allocation of psychedelic-assisted therapies for the Canadian population. The application of public health surveillance systems and resource allocation will be investigated with diverse stakeholders, including researchers, public health stakeholders at the provincial/territorial and federal level, and people with lived and living experience. Research findings will be used to increase the understanding of the population health outcomes for increasing use of psychedelic substances, and inform public policy and programs to target potential benefits to the most at need populations.