There is a short, honest list of what psychedelics can do for addiction right now.

This is it. 5 programs and 4 trials in Canada and the US, the evidence behind them in plain terms, and the order things have to happen in.

Withdrawal comes first.

Every trial that produced the results people quote enrolled people who were already stable. Alcohol and benzodiazepine withdrawal can be dangerous on their own. Why the order matters.

Guides

What is actually available for alcohol and other substance use

Ketamine, psilocybin, trials, and the things that are still illegal, sorted by how much evidence stands behind them and how you can legally get them in Canada and the US.

Withdrawal first: why the order matters

Alcohol, benzodiazepine and opioid withdrawal can be medically dangerous. Every credible ketamine or psilocybin program expects you to be past it before you start, and the ones that don't say so are the ones to ask about.

Questions to ask any program before you pay

Ten questions that separate a program built on the evidence from one built on the marketing, and what a good answer sounds like.

Programs

All programs

Clinics with a named, described protocol for alcohol use disorder, and licensed psilocybin services that say they work with addiction. Few, on purpose.

Ketamine for alcohol, Washington, Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia — detox required first

Avesta Ketamine and Wellness

A five-clinic group around Washington DC that offers monitored ketamine for alcohol use disorder, requires full detox before treatment and coordinates with the patient's own counselling.

Checked Sep 19, 2026Details

Ketamine for alcohol, San Luis Obispo, California

Innerbloom Ketamine Therapy

A central-California clinic following a research-based protocol for alcohol use disorder: six IV infusions over three weeks with psychotherapy before, between and after.

Checked Sep 19, 2026Details

Ketamine for alcohol, New York and New Jersey, New York

Keta Medical Center

Physician-led ketamine clinics in New York and New Jersey that treat alcohol use disorder alongside psychiatric care, and are unusual in taking insurance.

Checked Sep 19, 2026Details

Ketamine for alcohol, New York, New York — detox required first

Nushama

A Manhattan ketamine clinic running a four-week, seven-session alcohol program modelled on the KARE trial, pairing infusions with mindfulness-based relapse prevention.

Checked Sep 19, 2026Details

The only legal route to psilocybin for alcohol use disorder in most of Canada, and free. Strict entry criteria, and you may get a low dose.

Psilocybin for alcohol, Surrey, British Columbia — Listed as registering participants; confirm current status

Centre for Neurology Studies — psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for alcohol use disorder

A private clinical research site in Surrey, BC, registering adults aged 18 to 70 who want to reduce or stop drinking for a psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy study.

Study pageCentre for Neurology Studies (private research site)
Checked Invalid Date

Psilocybin for alcohol, Kingston, Ontario — Announced; check current recruitment

Queen's University / KHSC — psilocybin therapy for alcohol use disorder

A Phase 2b trial at Kingston Health Sciences Centre combining psilocybin with motivational enhancement therapy, sponsored by a Vancouver biotech aiming to bring psilocybin therapy for alcohol use disorder to Canada, the UK and the EU.

Study pageClairvoyant Therapeutics (Vancouver)
Checked Sep 19, 2026

Psilocybin for alcohol, Calgary, Alberta — Recruiting as of mid-2026

University of Calgary — psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for alcohol use disorder

Canada's largest single-site psilocybin trial for alcohol use disorder: 128 participants, high or low dose, up to eight hours of preparation and five weekly therapy sessions afterward.

Study pageUniversity of Calgary (PaCT Lab, Dr Leah Mayo)
Checked Sep 19, 2026