Recent News
April 10, 2025: New media release highlights findings from the Maverick Study led by Dr. Zach Walsh and Dr. Florriann Fehr, suggesting medically supervised cannabis may support substance use recovery. Read the full story here.
January 21, 2025: Drs. Michelle St. Pierre and Zach Walsh published the Index of Cannabis Equivalency (ICE) in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, introducing standardized low-dose cannabis equivalencies across consumption methods. Read more here.
November 16, 2024: Lab members Tashia Petker, Christopher Nelson, and Dr. Walsh presented at the CSAM-SMCA Scientific Conference.
September 25, 2024: New UBC Okanagan study led by Dr. Elena Argento, Tashia Petker, and Dr. Zach Walsh finds that therapists’ personal psychedelic experiences may enhance competence and safety in delivering ketamine-assisted therapy. Read the full story here.
September 10, 2024: Drs. Michelle St. Pierre and Zach Walsh published new research in Psychedelic Medicine examining patient-reported barriers to discussing therapeutic psychedelic use with physicians, highlighting the role of stigma and provider unfamiliarity in access challenges. Read the full story here.
July 29, 2024: Jordy Cates successfully defended her thesis on the Indigenous perspectives of cannabis use on Turtle Island. Congrats, Jordy!
June 5, 2024: Christopher Nelson successfully defended his thesis on the impact of cannabis and alcohol use on anxiety before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Congrats, Chris!
June 5, 2024: PhD candidate Joseph Rootman successfully defended his dissertation on cannabis-alcohol co-use and drinking regret. Congrats, Joey!
November 8, 2023: Dr. Walsh provided expert testimony on psychedelic drug research for veterans with PTSD to the Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs. Read the Senate report here.
September 28, 2023: New publication from Dr. Walsh, Christopher Nelson, and Dr. Florriann Fehr on stigma-related barriers to medical cannabis as harm reduction for substance use disorder. Read it here.
July 25, 2023: PhD candidate Sarah Daniels successfully defended her dissertation on the impact of mindful movement on well-being outcomes after cannabis use. Congrats, Sarah!
June 25, 2023: Lab member Christopher Nelson presented at the Canadian Psychological Association conference.
June 14, 2023: New research from Dr. Walsh and colleagues will investigate a novel 6-week standardized natural psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy intervention for opioid tapering in patients with chronic pain. Read more here.
January 31, 2023: Tashia Petker was interviewed about the decriminalization of possession of small amounts of certain drugs on CBC Daybreak South. Listen here.
January 22, 2023: Dr. Walsh was interviewed about the new alcohol guidelines set forth by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction on CBC Cross Country Check Up. Listen here.
November 19, 2022: PhD candidate Joey Rootman presented a TEDx Talk. View the recording here.
October 27, 2022: PhD candidate Michelle St. Pierre successfully defended her dissertation on the impact of acute cannabis use on cognition in regular cannabis users. Congrats, Michelle!
July 11, 2022: Dr. Walsh and Joseph Rootman published findings from the Microdose.me project in Nature – Scientific Reports, demonstrating that psilocybin microdosing was associated with improvements in mood, mental health, and psychomotor performance over a 30-day period. Find out more here.
June 30, 2022: New research from Dr. Walsh and colleagues investigates mood and mental health among psilocybin microdosers. Read more here.
June 19, 2022: Lab members Joseph Rootman and Christopher Nelson presented at the Canadian Psychological Association conference.
May 29, 2022: Lab members Tashia Petker and Christopher Nelson presented at the From Research to Reality conference.
March 16, 2022: Dr. Walsh and colleagues published a review in the British Journal of Psychiatry highlighting ketamine’s rapid antidepressant and anti-suicidal effects, and its potential broader applications in psychiatric treatment. Read more here.
December 23, 2021: New research from Dr. Walsh and colleagues explores therapeutic uses of ketamine for the treatment of mental health and substance use disorders. Read more here.
November 18, 2021: New research from Dr. Walsh and colleagues investigates health-related motivation as well as anxiety and depression among psilocybin microdosers. Read more here.
May 25, 2021: PhD Student Tashia Petker was awarded a 2021 UBC Killam Doctoral Scholarship. Congrats, Tashia! See the video here.
May 25, 2021: Upcoming talk on Cannabis and Mental Health with Dr. Walsh on Thursday, May 27 at 9am. Find out more here.
May 20, 2021: New research from Dr. Walsh and colleagues demonstrates reductions in tobacco and nicotine following medical cannabis initiation. Read more here.
May 6, 2021: PhD candidate Michelle St. Pierre named UBC Graduate Student Researcher of the Year. Read more here.
January 15, 2021: A recent announcement by the UFC to investigate the therapeutic use of psychedelics for fighters has renewed interest in work from our lab looking at psychedelics and partner violence. Read more here.
December 3, 2020: Take a look at Dr. Walsh’s latest publication Consensus-Based Recommendations for Titrating Cannabinoids and Tapering Opioids for Chronic Pain Control
October 14, 2020: New publication from Dr. Walsh and friends of the lab, Drs. Milloy, Lucas, and Boyd. Read more here.
September 17, 2020: A recent cannabis and pain publication from the lab was featured this week in media outlets such as Forbes and High Times.
September 13, 2020: Sarah Daniels, Michelle St. Pierre, Tatiana Sanchez, and Dr. Walsh recently published an article, Physician Communication and Perceived Stigma in Prenatal Cannabis Use.
May 22, 2020: UBCO Associate Professor Dr. Zach Walsh featured in faculty profile highlighting his work on the therapeutic uses of medicinal cannabis and community-engaged research in plant-based medicine. Read more here.
March 9, 2020: Dr. Walsh and colleagues Dr. Capler and Philippe Lucas just published The Medical Cannabis Standards Engagement Evaluation and Dissemination (SEED) project: A community-based research approach to self-regulating medical cannabis dispensaries in Canada
March 2020: Michelle and Dr. Walsh recently published an article, Cannabis education needs assessment among Canadian physicians-in-training.
February 28, 2020: Check out the latest publication from Dr. Walsh on Cannabis Epistemology and the Case-Series Design: An Invited Commentary on a Case Series and a Dismissive Response
November 8, 2019: Dr. Walsh and PhD student, Tatiana Sanchez, discussed preliminary findings from the CIHR-funded METRIC-L study regarding how cannabis use has been impacted by the federal legalization of adult use. They focused on changes in cannabis use norms, how cannabis is being used as a substitute for alcohol, and examined ongoing challenges and developments in cannabis research methods.
October 24, 2019: Dr. Walsh presented at UBC Vancouver as part of their Colloquium Series. His talk, Cannabis Revised: Legalization, Mental Health, and Public Health, presented research on the impacts of cannabis use on mental health and public health with a focus on the potential for cannabis legalization to positively impact health via the substitution of cannabis for other substances. Find out more here.
July 19, 2019: PhD Student, Michelle St. Pierre, recently spoke to HealthLine News about why people are turning to cannabis for pain. Read the article here.
May 30, 2019: Dr. Zach Walsh contributed to the most comprehensive evaluation to date of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD, showing significant symptom reductions among treatment-resistant participants. Find out more here.
May 16, 2019: Results from the Phase 2 clinical trial of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD that Dr. Walsh was part of. Findings indicate that MDMA-assisted psychotherapy is safe and effective. See our Media page for more coverage.
March 21, 2019: PhD Student, Michelle St. Pierre, received a Trainee Spotlight Award from the CCIC and will present on cannabis and acute pain in Toronto this week. Read more here.
March 9, 2019: Dr. Celia Morgan will be visiting UBC Okanagan to present on Psychedelic Drugs in the Treatment of Addiction: The Case of Ketamine. Please join us on March 29 from 3:30pm-5pm to learn about the current state of evidence for ketamine in the treatment of addiction.
November 28, 2018: Top researchers, including Dr. Walsh, are calling on the DEA and NIDA to reevaluate the scientifically scant FDA 8-factor analysis of kratom. Click here to view the letter on Cision.
October 17, 2018: Pot is legal. Is it time to redefine sobriety? Dr. Walsh explores the nuances of sobriety and different states of consciousness in this Walrus article.
October 17, 2018: Ever wonder why music sounds so good high? Dr. Walsh explains why in this CBC article.
October 16, 2018: How cannabis legalization will change research –Dr. Walsh and CBC.
October 10, 2018: One week until non-medical cannabis is legalized in Canada and CTV spoke with Dr. Walsh and our friends from CSSDP about what cannabis legalization means for campuses across the nation.
September 28, 2018: Head down to the Cannabis Hemp Conference and Expo in Vancouver (September 28) to catch Dr. Walsh speaking on medical cannabis.
September 5, 2018: We recently wrote an article summarizing some of the previous and ongoing research examining cannabis use in the treatment of trauma-related disorders. Read more here.
September 4, 2018: With cannabis legalization quickly approaching, Canadian campuses are introducing an array of new and updated policies to accommodate the changing drug policy landscape. Dr. Walsh recently stated, “I think it’s going to have a positive effect on Canadian campuses where people are using cannabis anyhow.” Read more here.
July 23, 2018: Dr. Walsh and colleague Dr. Ethan Russo tackle the question of whether CBD is psychoactive or not. See what they had to say in this interview with The Leaf.
June 21, 2018: Nine scientists, including Dr. Walsh, delivered a co-authored letter to the U.S. Senate and House Leadership condemning the FDA recommendation for scheduling of the natural plant as a Schedule I banned substance and urging the DEA to return the recommendation to the FDA for further study and development of appropriate regulations to preserve consumer access for the 3 – 5 million kratom users in America. Read more here.
June 11, 2018: Dr. Walsh spoke to CBC about a recent Health Canada raid of an Edmonton kratom retailer.
June 8, 2018: We recently published an article that examined the association between the use of psychedelics and partner violence. See our media page for more coverage.
June 2, 2018: New research on cannabis and PTSD suggests that those who use cannabis report lower levels of depression and suicidality when compared to those who do not. Dr. Walsh commented on the research in the Globe and Mail.
May 8, 2018: Dr. Walsh has been invited to present to the Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs in the Senate tomorrow at 9am. View the webcast here.
May 3, 2018: Did you see Dr. Walsh and colleagues’ open letter to Kellyanne Conway about the scheduling of kratom in the USA? You can Read it here.
April 25, 2018: Read about the on-campus harm reduction advocacy work of graduate students in the lab.
April 17, 2018: Dr. Walsh commented on the relationship between cannabis and youth mental health in anticipation of a CBC event on the same topic – Clearing the air regarding cannabis and youth
April 5, 2018: Check out the Grassroots Expo this weekend in Vancouver. Dr. Walsh and colleagues will be speaking on a number of interesting topics including, cannabis and pain management, and cannabis and mental health.
February 23, 2018: UBCO becomes the second university in Canada to cover medicinal cannabis for students in a one year trial period, thanks in part to the advocacy work of graduate students in the lab. See our media page for coverage on this outstanding development.
February 19, 2018: Dr. Walsh speaks out against the U.S. Food and Drug Association’s alarmist article on kratom, and its potential use as a treatment for opioid withdrawal symptoms.
January 31, 2018: Dr. Walsh was quoted in an advice column regarding the potential long-term health effects of frequent cannabis use, and how legalization will offer the chance to learn more about associated risks.
January 25, 2018: On Wednesday, January 24. Dr. Walsh was interviewed by The Globe and Mail, on the announcement that the federal government is giving $1.4 million in cannabis research grants, and on Dr. Walsh receiving one of the grants.
January 14, 2018: This past weekend, graduate student Michelle Thiessen spoke on a panel at the Lift Cannabis Expo where she shared about educating young people about cannabis. See a photo of her and the other panelists here.
January 10, 2018: Our lab has partnered with Eden Medicinal Society to help evaluate their ongoing Opioid Substitution Program in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. The Globe and Mail highlighted this program in a recent article on the opioid crisis.
October 23, 2017: New UBCO research suggests that lifetime use of classic psychedelics is associated with reduced odds of antisocial and criminal behaviour. Read the full story here.
October 12, 2017: Dr. Walsh and PhD candidate Rielle Capler published research in the International Journal of Drug Policy highlighting the value of independent cannabis dispensaries and cautioning policymakers against dismantling effective storefront distribution models. Read more here.
February 27, 2017: New UBCO study finds that many patients with chronic pain and mental health conditions report substituting cannabis for prescribed opioids and other medications. Read the full story here.
November 16, 2016: Dr. Walsh and colleagues published a comprehensive systematic review in Clinical Psychology Review examining medical cannabis and mental health, highlighting its potential role in harm reduction for opioid and alcohol use while noting important clinical cautions. Read more here.
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