Fearless activist Thomas Hartle remembered

On August 13, 2024 Thomas Hartle passed away. Thomas was a fearless fighter for humane medical psilocybin access in Canada. He was diagnosed with terminal cancer. It was not known how long he had to live. This caused daily existential distress. Thomas learned about psilocybin and fought for access to psilocybin so that he could alleviate his suffering. In August 2020 Thomas and three others became the first people in Canada to obtain legal access to medical psilocybin by way of a section 56 exemption. Thomas continued to press the federal government for better access. He did this for himself and others. In August 2022 Thomas, along with six other brave patients and one brave therapist, took the government to court. The still-ongoing court case seeks doctor-as-gatekeeper psilocybin access, therapist training psilocybin access and natural whole mushroom psilocybin access. It is not easy suing the government, but Thomas did it without hesitation. I am counsel on the case, along with five other lawyers, so I had the joy of speaking with Thomas regularly about psilocybin; I have also had the joy of speaking with many others about their psilocybin experiences and I can say that nobody spoke more articulately about this most ineffable of experiences. Thomas lit the road forward. I will remember Thomas as an eloquent, fearless fighter for justice who made Canada better.