Roger McIntyre, M.D. | CEO, Champignon Brands

What do you think is the most important thing for people to understand about the future of psychedelics?

‍The most important thing people need to understand is that psychedelic treatments are not addictive and could be effective in treating common and severe mental disorders like depression, substance abuse, PTSD, alcohol abuse, and more. Depression, PTSD and substance and alcohol use disorders (DPS) are some of the most common medical disorders in North America and globally.

The current marketplace for pharmacologic DPS treatments in North America exceeds $10B annually. Over 75% of people with DPS are inadequately treated with conventional approaches and there’s a need for rapid onset treatments capable of improving health outcomes.

It is important to note that these treatments should only be developed and delivered at expert multidisciplinary centres, like CRTCE.

‍What is the most common misconception you hear about psychedelics?

The most common misconception about psychedelics is that they are addictive and only for the 'party culture'. In fact, psychedelics have a very low abuse liability and have many documented medical purposes.

What made you personally want to get involved in the space?

I personally have met over 100,000 people, families and groups who suffer from mood disorders throughout my career. Most people with mood disorders do not have good outcomes and our suicide rate remains very high, which is not defensible.

My inspiration to be involved in the space was to help deliver better outcomes for these people who need it most.

Which achievements are you most proud of at AltMed to date?

‍I'm most proud of us having the largest and only integrated treatment centre that is approved by the government of Ontario in Canada to conduct psychedelic research. The CRTCE is also Canada’s preeminent rapid onset treatment training and education facility for medical professionals, where we continue to outpace our peers in the realms of knowledge application, knowledge generation, knowledge dissemination.