Canadian documentary, ‘DOSED: The Trip of a Lifetime’, follows Laurie, who received an exemption from the Canadian government to legally take magic mushrooms for help with her end of life anxiety due to a terminal cancer diagnosis. She has stated “magic mushrooms saved my life” which makes for a powerful and intriguing story. 

Given only a year to live, she becomes one of the first patients to be granted the legal right to the medical use of psilocybin (“magic mushrooms”) for end-of-life treatment.With the help of her husband Glenn, her four children, her family,doctors, therapists, authors and academics, Laurie then embarks on a remarkable journey of personal transformation and healing while exploring lesser-known possible treatments and cures for cancer, like cannabis oil. Laurie’s story of courage and resilience calls into question everything we think we know about the human body, mind, and spirit.

This eye-opening documentary from Canadian filmmakers Tyler Chandler and Nicholas Meyers, the duo behind the award-winning psychedelic therapy doc DOSED, chronicles the Laurie’s personal journey with her family, with surprising results.

Chandler and Meyers were first introduced to the potential for psychedelics to be used in various mental health and addiction therapies in 2017. They then embarked on a risky and uncertain journey documenting a friend’s attempt to overcome opioid addiction using psychedelics. Psychedelics turned out to be the game-changing medicine she needed to move from addiction to sobriety. Witnessing her transformation piqued their curiosity to explore other ways psychedelics might be used to help people. In 2020, they met Laurie Brooks, who was granted the use of “magic mushrooms” to help with her end-of-life anxiety. As they documented her journey, they were able to secure interviews with top scientists, doctors and clinicians in the field of psychedelic research, including Dr. Gabor Maté, Paul Stamets, Dennis McKenna, Dr. Robert Sealy, and Sharan Sidhu, among others. The resulting film, DOSED: The Trip of a Lifetime, contains powerful information with the potential to repair families and save lives. 

The filmmakers have anticipated resurgent interest in psychedelics’ medical uses from practitioners, scientists, patients and others for their therapeutic and medical properties and benefits. On January 1, 2023 Oregon became the first US state to legalize psilocybin therapy1 However, banned for decades in the US, their promise chafes against their Schedule I drug status2 and history of fomenting hysteria. International media on the right, left and center—from NPR to CNN to Fox News, as well as across academia—have devoted significant attention to the resurgent interest in the field. Most recently, HBO’s John Oliver devoted his main story in his season debut to the promise of psychedelics, advising caution lest we repeat the missteps of the 1960’s3.

While the filmmakers recognize and acknowledge the inherently anecdotal nature of following a single subject and make no medical claims attendant to the subjects or their experiences, they are dedicated to making the film’s website a resource and hub for those seeking more information about psychedelic therapy.

The filmmakers conclude, “The most documentarians can hope for is to be at a pivotal point in history, documenting an emerging story—and a movement–that has the power to save lives. That’s where we found ourselves with DOSED: The Trip of a Lifetime. Brooks and her family give us complete, unfettered access to their lives, revealing their most intimate moments and private truths to the lens. We invite audiences to watch and immerse themselves in a story of true courage, resilience, and ultimately hope, which can change the course of human history.”

Click here for screenings. If you haven’t seen the first standalone documentary in the DOSED series, you can watch it here.

After years of prescription medications failed her, a woman turns to the underground to try and overcome her depression, anxiety, and opioid addiction with illegal psychedelic medicine, like magic mushrooms and iboga. Adrianne’s first dose of psilocybin mushrooms catapulted her into an unexpected world of healing where plant medicines are redefining our understanding of mental health and addiction.

 

About the Author

Bryen Dunn is a freelance journalist with a focus on travel, lifestyle, entertainment and hospitality. He has an extensive portfolio of celebrity interviews with musicians, actors and other public personalities. He enjoys discovering delicious eats, tasting spirited treats, and being mesmerized by musical beats.