Danielle Egan in The Tyee:
Vancouver’s top drug policy official and B.C. public health physicians believe addicts might be treated by giving them psychedelic drugs, and they hope the city will lead in exploring the controversial approach.
Powerful hallucinogens such as ayahuasca and peyote could offer addicts and other sick people “profound benefits,” Donald MacPherson, Drug Policy Co-ordinator for the city of Vancouver, told The Tyee.
MacPherson is co-author of a report published by the city in November that puts ayahuasca and peyote in the category of “benefit,” based on their traditional use by indigenous cultures and on documented studies by researchers…
Unlike LSD and ecstasy, ibogaine and ayahuasca aren’t criminalized in Canada, though they are in the States, so Vancouver is in a unique position to host start-up therapy programs.
More here. [Thanks to Steven Anker.]
Also, for an interestingly provocative account of his experiences with ibogaine, read Daniel Pinchbeck’s Breaking Open the Head. Website for the book is here.