November 4, 2024
The purpose of the Cafe Scientifique was to bring together a panel of leading researchers in
Canada with expertise on psychedelics and health equity. An Advisory Committee was
comprised of 13 members (see Appendix A) to provide oversight on the project, including
selecting the panelists and deciding on the format of the event. Support was provided by the
partner organizations, MAPS Canada, the National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of
Health, and Hollyhock Leadership Institute.
The event was held on March 10, 2024 in Vancouver at Simon Fraser University’s downtown
campus, an accessible venue and centrally located. It was a hybrid event with participants
attending in-person and virtually online via zoom. Catering was provided for in person
participants. Approximately 130 participants attended, with over 100 participants joining online
from all over Canada and a few other locations. The event was facilitated by Kim Haxton, a
skilled Indigenous facilitator with experience in the psychedelics community. The event was
attended by three vendors in the psychedelic community who provided information on their
programs or services.
The event was video recorded and a graphic recording (see Appendix C) of the panel
presentations was created during the event by Michelle Buchholz, an Indigenous graphic
recorder and facilitator from Cassey Consulting. The program agenda (see Appendix D)
included presentations from 4 panelists, followed by a question and answer session and
breakout discussions for both in-person and virtual participants. The breakout sessions were
facilitated by members of the Advisory Committee and other volunteers working in the
psychedelic sector. The event was concluded with a report back from groups on the discussion
and a presentation by the graphic recorder showing the final recording of the day.