Nova Scotia Psychedelic Society

NSPS (formerly the Halifax Psychedelic Society) is a registered non-profit dedicated to creating cultural and political change regarding psychedelics, while providing harm reduction and support for people who are affected by substances. Our goal is to be a platform for activism, support and community. We strictly uphold our mandate to work within the current legal framework to make the changes we believe are needed.

The name stands in solidarity with dozens of other independent organizations around the world, a movement started by the Harvard Psychedelic Society in the 1960s and renewed by the San Francisco Psychedelic Society in 2012. Though Halifax is in our name, we will provide events and services for all of Atlantic Canada. Rather than claiming to represent all of the Canadian east coast we would rather help start other organizations, working cooperatively and decentralized.

The name is also a statement of pride. We are here despite the personal and professional risk to say ‘Psychedelics have helped me and we are not going to hide anymore.'

NSPS is founded, funded and operated by volunteers. After several years we had gathered enough volunteers and public momentum to launch, then the pandemic caused us to cancel events and regroup.

Over the last four years we have gained our non-profit status from the province, formalized our board and will begin to offer services to the community.

With a newly formed board we will start offering events within the community. Follow our socials or sign up to our newsletter so you always know what's on the horizon.

Nope. We do not take part in any illegal activity.

Sign up for our email list and you will be notified once membership goes live! We will have a fundraising campaign before we launch membership as this has significant expenses.

In short, there will be two types of membership.

Community Member: Free and open to all with special content, events and resources. We will focus on community building and making sure all are welcome.

Formal Member: Due to the ‘Societies Act’ in which we incorporated under, ‘Members’ have certain responsibilities. We must have certain information collected (address, legal name, profession, etc) and shared with the province. This seemed like a huge barrier to entry and we did not want leave people out for valuing their privacy. Formal Members are also required to attend and vote at the Annual General Meeting.

This is a complicated question and one whose answer will change as time goes on. Currently the only way to access psychedelics legally is through your doctor. Typically they are prescribed for end of life anxiety and illness related distress. For more information check out TheraPsil and Canada’s Special Access Program to see if you qualify. This article can help.

It is the goal of NSPS to change laws, support practitioners and help keep you informed as this changes. Access is coming but systemic change takes time.

There are treatment centers in countries and states where this is legal. At this time we can not recommend specific facilities.

It should be noted that edible cannabis can be considered a psychedelic and is legal in Canada. We recommend caution when experimenting with high doses.

At present psychedelic assisted psychotherapy is still not widely available to the public due to current legal constraints.

It is our sincere intention to connect those who need help to legal service providers, but this will take time. We will continue to update and our goal is to make a practitioner list available to the community.

At present, here are some options:
There are few options here in Nova Scotia. None of the clinics listed are an endorsement, each person and health care provider needs to decide what is best for them.

Holos Integrative Health offers a holistic approach to wellness.

Altered Healing offers Cannabis-Assisted Psychedelic Therapy

Amanda Grinter - Psychedelic Therapy

Wild Art Therapy Collective - Psychedelic Therapy

There are some practitioners that can support you using psilocybin legally by being in a research study or getting special permission from Health Canada.

NSPS will not be facilitating individual access to underground ceremonies. As legislation changes we will adjust our policy accordingly.

As stated above, for people who are interested in gaining medical access to psilocybin therapy we encourage you to reach out to TheraPsil. As legislation changes and more resources become available we will provide updates and help people gain access to these services.

In the meantime, we suggest reaching out to our allies at TheraPsil, inform yourself on the Health Canada approved Special Access program in order to see if you qualify for these services.

If you find yourself in a mental health crisis please reach out to the Mental Health Mobile Crisis Team at 1-888-429-8167 for immediate assistance.

We are not aware of any NS based study opportunities for psychedelic therapy right now.

This article provides a basic primer on available trainings online, in addition organizations like TheraPsil and Atma provide training programs for licensed mental health professionals.

Join NSPS! We will be hosting community events to support increased connections within our growing community of like minded people.

Stay tuned, NSPS is working towards this resource and will provide updates when ready.

Sign up on our Contact Form! We are building a directory of practitioners.