If I asked you to picture someone who uses mushrooms (psilocybin), you would not imagine Larry Campbell, a 74-year-old Canadian Senator who has been in politics for two decades. But, Campbell opened up about his use of mushrooms at the Catalyst Psychedelics Summit in Ontario.
Campbell says he suffers from depression and PTSD and that the pharmaceutical anti-depressants still left him feeling down. Then, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he felt his mood improving but didn't know why.
What A Wife!
Eventually, Campbell's wife told him that he was feeling better because, well, she'd been spiking his coffee with microdoses of psilocybin - the psychoactive component found in magic mushrooms.
Technically, psilocybin and other psychedelics are still illegal in Canada, although the country allows some patients to experiment with them via the country's Special Access Program. Just last week, the first patient in Quebec gained approval from Health Canada to experiment with psilocybin.
In the U.S. several cities have decriminalized the use of psychedelics, including Denver, Detroit, Oakland and more.
As more leaders, like Campbell (and his wife), speak out about the potential benefits of psilocybin, adoption should come sooner rather than later.
