Psychedelic Treatment with Psilocybin: Addressing Medical Malpractice Risk and Physicians’ Concerns
Psychedelic treatment with psilocybin is receiving increased attention following clinical trials showing it may help treat end-of-life anxiety, depression, and several other conditions. Despite this, physicians may be reluctant to prescribe psilocybin and carry out psilocybin treatment because of the stigma surrounding psychedelics and the potential for medical malpractice liability. This paper explores whether psilocybin treatment gives rise to a risk of medical malpractice liability for physicians. Following an overview of psilocybin treatment and its regulatory regime in Canada, exploratory vignettes are used to highlight the relevance and limits of malpractice claims. This paper argues that the lack of established medical standards, standardized training, and credentialing contribute to liability risks surrounding psilocybin treatment. More clinical trials, meta-studies of research analyses, and knowledge sharing will help to develop training programs and medical standards of practice to better realize psilocybin's potential.
Authors
- Yann Joly (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8775-2322)
- Jean-François Stephan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-7376-208X)
- Houman Farzin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4095-3596)
- Sue-Ling Chang
- Johanne Hébert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4023-9246)
- Jean‐Sébastien Fallu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2300-1335)
- Michel Dorval (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3207-8211)
- P. Deschamps (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8862-9046)
- Katherine Cheung (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3529-4109)
- M J Brodie
Institutions
- National Institutes of Health (US)
- Université du Québec à Rimouski (CA)
- Jewish General Hospital (CA)
- Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec (CA)
- Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Québec (CA)
- Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de Chaudière-Appalaches (CA)
- Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EG)
- Université Laval (CA)
- McGill University (CA)
- Université de Montréal (CA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Journal of Law Medicine & Ethics
- Published
- 2025-01-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1017/jme.2025.10109
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Psychedelics and Drug Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.31
Funders
- Université Laval
- McGill University
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec
- National Institutes of Health