A few years ago, with the legalization of cannabis in Canada and
other countries, chemists rushed to isolate active compounds from
the plant, synthesize new cannabinoid derivatives and formulate new
preparations for the delivery of these active compounds. As a
result, patent and trademark offices were flooded with new
applications protecting such inventions and products. Today,
while research into cannabis remains strong, there is now a focus
on the active compounds found in 'magic mushrooms',
particularly the compound psilocybin. While psilocybin remains
illegal in Canada (and other jurisdictions), the potential benefits
of psilocybin and its derivatives for the treatment of mental
health disorders is spurring a significant amount of research in
the hopes that one day these compounds will be legalized. In
fact, last year Health Canada authorized a publicly traded Canadian
company to legally extract psilocybin from mushrooms to standardize
the company's extraction
