THE SHROOMVERSE JOURNAL ✳ 19 MIN READ
Are magic mushrooms legal in Canada? A plain-language guide
Topic: Law and policy in Canada
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Short answer, checked 4 October 2026
No. Under the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, psilocin and psilocybin are in Schedule III, and Health Canada says the production, sale and possession of magic mushrooms are illegal unless Health Canada authorizes them. Authorized routes exist for clinical trials, the Special Access Program and individual section 56 exemptions. New federal Controlled Substances Regulations took effect on 1 October 2026; they list psilocin and psilocybin as restricted drugs and do not make magic mushrooms legal. British Columbia’s drug decriminalization pilot never covered psilocybin and has expired. Bill C-286, a private member’s bill about psilocybin, has had only first reading.
On this page 9 sections
If you are asking whether magic mushrooms are legal in Canada, the federal answer is no. This guide sets out what the law and Health Canada say, the narrow routes Health Canada describes for medical and scientific access, a pilot that is often misremembered, and one bill before Parliament. Each statement was checked against an official page on 4 October 2026, and we say plainly where we could not confirm something.
General information, not legal advice
This page explains public documents. It cannot tell you how the law applies to your situation; for that, speak to a lawyer. It does not help anyone avoid the law. If someone is in a medical emergency after taking any substance, call 911. For a possible poisoning, the Ontario Poison Centre says it is available on 1-800-268-9017, 24 hours a day, every day. For a suicide crisis or emotional distress, call or text 9-8-8. Section 4.1 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act defines a medical emergency as a life-threatening situation caused by a psychoactive substance in the body, and says no person who seeks emergency medical or law enforcement assistance for themselves or someone else, or who is at the scene when it arrives, is to be charged or convicted of the possession offence in subsection 4(1) if the evidence was obtained or discovered because of that call or presence (Justice Laws). It covers that one offence only, so read the section itself and do not treat it as a guarantee. For safety information see our safety page.
Are magic mushrooms legal in Canada?
No. Health Canada’s page on magic mushrooms says: “The production, sale and possession of magic mushrooms are illegal in Canada” (Health Canada). The same page says these activities are illegal unless Health Canada authorizes them, for example through a licence, an exemption or the regulations.
Health Canada updated the page on 20 October 2026, after the new federal Controlled Substances Regulations took effect on 1 October 2026. The one wording change we found is in its clinical-trials section, which now names those Regulations as the authorization needed to sell psilocybin for clinical testing; the rest of the page, including the sentence quoted above, reads as before (Health Canada). Check the live page before relying on any detail here.
What does Canadian law actually say about psilocybin?
The Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) is the federal statute. The Justice Laws consolidation we read is current to 21 September 2026 and was last amended on 18 July 2026 (Justice Laws). The rest of this section describes the text as it stood then.
Schedule III names psilocin and psilocybin
Schedule III of the Act lists psilocin and psilocybin, each “and any salt thereof”, at items 11 and 12 (Justice Laws). The Schedule names the two chemicals, not the mushrooms. But section 2(2) says that, for the purposes of the Act, a reference to a controlled substance includes “any substance that contains a controlled substance” and all synthetic and natural forms of it. Health Canada reads the law the same way: its page says activities with magic mushrooms, psilocybin and psilocin are illegal unless authorized (Health Canada).
Which offences apply, and what are the maximum penalties?
Five parts of the Act matter most for a Schedule III substance. The table gives the offence in plain words and the maximum penalty the Act sets (Justice Laws). A maximum is a ceiling set by Parliament, not a prediction of what a court would impose; our guide to penalties for psilocybin in Canada goes further.
| Offence | Section | What the section says, in plain words | Maximum penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Possession | 4(1), 4(6) | No person shall possess a Schedule I, II or III substance, “except as authorized under the regulations”. | Indictable: up to 3 years in prison. Summary: for a first offence, a fine up to $1,000 or up to 6 months, or both; for a later offence, a fine up to $2,000 or up to 1 year, or both. |
| Trafficking, and possession for the purpose of trafficking | 5(1), 5(2), 5(3) | No person shall traffic in a Schedule III substance, or in a substance represented or held out to be one, or possess one to traffic. | Indictable: up to 10 years. Summary: up to 18 months. |
| Import and export, and possession to export | 6(1), 6(2), 6(3) | Except as authorized under the regulations, no importing into or exporting from Canada, and no possession for the purpose of exporting. | Indictable: up to 10 years. Summary: up to 18 months. |
| Production | 7(1), 7(2) | Except as authorized under the regulations, no person shall produce a Schedule III substance. | Indictable: up to 10 years. Summary: up to 18 months. |
| Possessing, selling, importing or transporting something intended for production or trafficking | 7.1(1), 7.1(2) | No person shall possess, produce, sell, import or transport anything intending that it will be used to produce a controlled substance (unless lawfully authorized) or to traffic in one. | Indictable: up to 10 years. Summary: up to 18 months. |
Two definitions in section 2(1) make these offences wider than many people expect. “Traffic” means to sell, administer, give, transfer, transport, send or deliver a substance, or to offer to do any of those things, otherwise than under the authority of the regulations. “Produce” means to obtain a substance by any method or process, including manufacturing it, or cultivating, propagating or harvesting it or any living thing from which it may be obtained, and includes offering to produce (Justice Laws). Giving is trafficking under the Act even if no money changes hands.
What do the diversion provisions change?
Since 2022 the Act has also had a Part I.1 on “evidence-based diversion measures”. Section 10.2 says a peace officer must, instead of laying a charge for possession under subsection 4(1), consider whether to take no further action, give a warning or, with the person’s consent, refer them to a program or service. Section 10.3 says a prosecution for that offence may go ahead only if the prosecutor is of the opinion that a warning, a referral or alternative measures is not appropriate and a prosecution is (Justice Laws).
These sections steer discretion. They do not remove the offence: subsection 10.2(2) says an officer’s failure to consider the options does not invalidate later charges (Justice Laws). We did not review how police and prosecutors use these powers in practice, so this page does not describe enforcement.
What does Health Canada say about psilocybin?
Besides the statement on legal status, Health Canada’s page says there are no approved therapeutic products containing psilocybin in Canada or elsewhere. It adds that clinical trials are the most appropriate way to advance research with unapproved drugs such as psilocybin, and it encourages Canadians seeking support for mental-health disorders to talk with their health care provider (Health Canada). For the research picture, see what psilocybin is and our explainer on what the COMP360 filing means for Canada.
Is there any lawful way to access psilocybin in Canada?
Yes, but only through narrow, supervised routes. Health Canada names three, available “in some circumstances” and “with the support of a regulated health care practitioner”. It says clinical trials and the Special Access Program should generally be pursued instead of an individual exemption, unless it can be shown that access is not possible or suitable through them (Health Canada). Each involves oversight: a research ethics board, a practitioner, or a decision by the Minister. Health Canada adds that the Special Access Program and individual exemptions are not mechanisms to encourage early use of unauthorized drugs or to circumvent the established drug review and approval process.
Clinical trials
Health Canada says clinical trials “should be the first legal route pursued” by people seeking access for therapeutic treatment. A trial must be approved by a research ethics board, and the drug used must meet Good Manufacturing Practices. Health Canada’s Clinical Trials Database lists authorized trials, and the page tells interested people to talk to their health care provider (Health Canada).
The Special Access Program
The Special Access Program lets health care practitioners request drugs that are not authorized for sale in Canada, for serious or life-threatening conditions when conventional therapies have failed, are unsuitable or are unavailable. Health Canada says that the ability to request restricted drugs such as psilocybin through the program was restored in January 2022. Individuals cannot apply themselves: only regulated practitioners who may treat patients with prescription drugs can file a request on a patient’s behalf, and there is no guarantee any request will be granted (Health Canada).
A February 2023 Health Canada notice adds that each request is judged case by case on the evidence for the use, and that an authorization is not a statement that the drug is safe, effective or of high quality (Health Canada notice). For the full process see our guide to the Special Access Program and psilocybin.
Individual section 56(1) exemptions
Section 56(1) of the CDSA lets the Minister of Health, on any terms and conditions the Minister considers necessary, exempt a person, a class of persons or a substance from the Act or its regulations if the exemption is “necessary for a medical or scientific purpose or is otherwise in the public interest” (Justice Laws). Health Canada describes it as discretionary, considered case by case. Factors include whether a clinical trial or the Special Access Program is available, the condition, the scientific evidence, whether conventional therapies were considered, and whether a health care practitioner supports the request. Requests should include a letter of support from a medical practitioner (Health Canada).
A 2024 paper in Scientific Reports reports that the first Canadians to access psilocybin legally for therapeutic ends were four people with incurable cancer, granted personal section 56 exemptions in August 2020. Its authors say the Special Access Program has largely supplanted that pathway (de la Salle et al., 2024). That is the authors’ account; Health Canada’s page does not give counts. Our explainer on section 56 exemptions covers the details.
What changed on 1 October 2026?
The Controlled Substances Regulations (SOR/2025-242) were registered on 28 November 2025 and published in the Canada Gazette, Part II, on 17 December 2025. Section 239 says they come into force on 1 October 2026. The Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement says they consolidate the Narcotic Control Regulations, the Benzodiazepines and Other Targeted Substances Regulations, Parts G and J of the Food and Drug Regulations and other instruments, and that Health Canada would revoke several subsection 56(1) class exemptions on that day, including the one for Special Access Program authorizations of psilocybin and MDMA (Canada Gazette). They are regulations under the Act, so they do not change the Act’s offences or Schedule III.
For psilocybin, the Gazette text says four things. Psilocin and psilocybin are items 8 and 9 in Part 1 of Schedule 4, the list of “restricted drugs”. Section 6(1) lists who is authorized to possess a restricted drug obtained in accordance with the regulations: licensed dealers, certain pharmacists, a practitioner named in a letter of authorization, the Minister, certain officials, a person possessing it to destroy it, and “an individual who has obtained the restricted drug for their own use from a practitioner named in a letter of authorization”. A “letter of authorization” is one issued under section C.08.010 of the Food and Drug Regulations, which the Statement links to Special Access Program authorizations. And sections 130(2) and 131(2) let a practitioner who is treating an individual and has received a copy of that letter sell, provide or administer a restricted drug (Canada Gazette).
None of this makes magic mushrooms legal for the public: the possession offence still applies to anyone outside the listed authorizations. It does sit awkwardly beside Health Canada’s 27 February 2023 notice, which said the class exemption of that time “doesn’t allow patients to possess or transport restricted drugs” and that the drugs must be used in the presence of the practitioner or their delegate (Health Canada notice). The most natural reading is that the notice describes the old class exemption, which the Gazette says was to be revoked, and that the regulations now say something different. But we could not find any Health Canada guidance that reconciles the two, the notice itself carries no update, and we have not seen what conditions a letter of authorization contains. So we do not say how the individual-possession provision works in practice. Practitioners and patients should rely on current Health Canada guidance and the letter itself.
Did British Columbia decriminalize magic mushrooms?
No. British Columbia’s pilot never covered psilocybin. Health Canada published the exemption in 2022 (publications.gc.ca), and it took effect on 31 January 2023, as a subsection 56(1) exemption granted to support the province’s response to the overdose crisis. It was planned to run to 31 January 2026 (Health Canada backgrounder).
Under it, adults aged 18 and older could not be arrested or charged for possessing a cumulative amount of up to 2.5 grams of opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine or MDMA for personal use. Psilocybin was not on that list. The exemption did not apply in places such as airports, daycares and schools, and a September 2023 amendment added areas close to playgrounds and skate parks (Health Canada backgrounder).
British Columbia asked for an amendment on 26 April 2024, and from 7 May 2024 Health Canada granted it, replacing the original with a narrower exemption that applied only in private residences, designated health care clinics and places where unhoused people were lawfully sheltering, plus overdose prevention and drug checking sites. The replacement text lists opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA and again sets a 2.5 gram cumulative limit (Health Canada backgrounder; Health Canada exemption). That page now carries the notice “This exemption has expired.”
The Province of British Columbia’s page, last updated on 29 May 2026, says the exemption expired on 31 January 2026 and will not be renewed (Government of British Columbia). It covered a short list of substances that did not include psilocybin.
What is Bill C-286, and has it passed?
No. Bill C-286, “An act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and the Food and Drugs Act”, is a private member’s bill sponsored by Corey Tochor (Saskatoon East) in the 45th Parliament, first session. On 4 October 2026 the Parliament of Canada’s LEGISinfo page showed first reading in the House of Commons on 16 June 2026, a status of “Outside the Order of Precedence”, and every later stage as “Not reached” (LEGISinfo).
The bill’s own summary says it amends the two Acts “to allow psilocin and psilocybin to be used for medical treatment in accordance with the Narcotic Control Regulations” and provides for automatic approval of requests for priority review for certain new drugs. Its purpose clause says the aim is to improve access to hallucinogenic drug medical treatment and not to circumvent existing approval processes for new drugs (Bill C-286, first reading).
In the first-reading text, one clause defines “narcotic” for the Narcotic Control Regulations to include psilocin and psilocybin, a second removes them from the definition of “restricted drug”, and a third would deem a request for priority review of a new drug submission for psilocin, psilocybin or a substantially similar substance to be granted the day it is received (Bill C-286, first reading). Until a bill passes both houses and receives Royal Assent, the law described above stays as it is. Our guide to Bill C-286 follows its progress.
What is still unsettled?
- Bill C-286. It has had only first reading (LEGISinfo). Its text refers to the Narcotic Control Regulations and to the restricted-drug definition in the Food and Drug Regulations (Bill C-286, first reading), and the Canada Gazette says the Controlled Substances Regulations repeal and consolidate those instruments from 1 October 2026. We could not tell how, or whether, the bill’s wording would be adapted.
- The new regulations in practice. Section 6(1)(g) lets an individual possess a restricted drug obtained for their own use from a practitioner named in a letter of authorization (Canada Gazette), while Health Canada’s 2023 notice said patients could not possess or transport such drugs under the class exemption then in place (Health Canada notice). We found no Health Canada guidance reconciling them as of 4 October 2026.
- Health Canada’s own pages. Its magic mushrooms page was updated on 20 October 2026, but it names the new regulations only in its clinical-trials section. Its February 2023 Special Access Program notice predates them. Treat both as possibly out of date on how the access routes now work.
- How the law is applied. Police and prosecutorial practice, and case law on particular products or situations, are outside this page. A lawyer can advise on those.
- How many people use the lawful routes. Health Canada’s page does not publish counts, and we did not find an official count to cite.
- Whether any psilocybin product will be approved. Health Canada’s page says none has been approved in Canada or elsewhere; check it for changes.
- Provincial and local rules. This page covers federal law only. Our guide to Ontario looks at one province.
Where can you check the law yourself?
- Controlled Drugs and Substances Act on the Justice Laws website: sections 2, 4, 4.1, 5, 6, 7, 56 and Schedule III.
- Health Canada’s psilocybin and psilocin page: legal status and the three access routes.
- Health Canada’s Special Access Program notice on psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy requests.
- Controlled Substances Regulations, SOR/2025-242 in the Canada Gazette.
- Bill C-286 on LEGISinfo: current stage and full text.
For how psilocybin became a controlled substance in Canada, see when and why magic mushrooms became illegal. For what the mushrooms are, start with what are magic mushrooms.
Common questions
Are magic mushrooms legal in Canada?
No. Psilocin and psilocybin are in Schedule III of the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, and Health Canada says the production, sale and possession of magic mushrooms are illegal unless authorized by Health Canada. Narrow authorized routes exist for trials, the Special Access Program and individual exemptions.
Is it legal to possess a small amount of magic mushrooms?
Not under the text of the Act. Section 4(1) bars possession of a Schedule III substance except as authorized under the regulations, and we found no small-amount exception. Part I.1 asks police and prosecutors to consider warnings, referrals or alternative measures instead of a charge or prosecution, but possession remains an offence.
Did British Columbia decriminalize psilocybin?
No. The pilot that ran from 31 January 2023 covered up to 2.5 grams of opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA for adults. Psilocybin was not included, and the province says the exemption expired on 31 January 2026 and will not be renewed.
Is psilocybin approved as a medicine in Canada?
Health Canada’s page, last modified on 20 October 2026, says there are no approved therapeutic products containing psilocybin in Canada or elsewhere. Access through trials, the Special Access Program or exemptions is for unapproved use under practitioner oversight.
What is the Special Access Program?
A Health Canada program through which regulated practitioners can request drugs not authorized for sale in Canada for patients with serious or life-threatening conditions when conventional therapies have failed or are unsuitable or unavailable. Psilocybin requests became possible again in January 2022. Patients cannot apply directly, and approval is not guaranteed.
What is Bill C-286?
A private member’s bill in the 45th Parliament, sponsored by Corey Tochor, that would amend the CDSA and the Food and Drugs Act to allow psilocin and psilocybin to be used for medical treatment. LEGISinfo showed only first reading, on 16 June 2026, as of 4 October 2026. It is not law.
Did anything change on 1 October 2026?
New federal Controlled Substances Regulations took effect, consolidating several older regulations and class exemptions. Psilocin and psilocybin are listed as restricted drugs, and the text authorizes possession by, among others, an individual who obtained a restricted drug for their own use from a practitioner named in a letter of authorization. The Act’s offences and Schedule III listing, as read in the version current to 21 September 2026, are as described above. We found no Health Canada guidance explaining the practical effect.
If someone needs urgent help after taking mushrooms, will calling 911 get them charged?
Section 4.1 of the CDSA says a person who seeks emergency help for a life-threatening situation caused by a psychoactive substance, or who is at the scene when help arrives, cannot be charged or convicted of the possession offence in section 4(1) if the evidence came from seeking help or being there. It covers that offence only. In an emergency call 911; this is not legal advice.
Shroomverse sells mushroom products. This article is general information about Canadian law and regulation. It is not medical, legal or purchasing advice, and it does not encourage anyone to use drugs.
SOURCES
- Psilocybin and psilocin (Magic mushrooms) (page modified 20 October 2026), Health Canada. Accessed . Full page re-read 24 October 2026; compared with the 8 October 2025 version, the one wording change names the Controlled Substances Regulations for the sale of psilocybin for clinical testing. Supports the statement on legal status, the absence of approved psilocybin products, the three access routes, the Special Access Program restored in January 2022, the section 56(1) factors and the letter-of-support requirement.
- Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, S.C. 1996, c. 19 (current to 2026-09-21, last amended 2026-07-18), Justice Laws Website, Department of Justice Canada. Accessed . Sections 2(1) and 2(2), 4 to 7.1, 4.1 (definition of medical emergency and subsections 4.1(2) to (5)), Part I.1 (sections 10.1 to 10.3), 56(1) and the entries for psilocin and psilocybin in Schedule III read in the full text.
- Notice to stakeholders: Requests to the Special Access Program (SAP) involving psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (27 February 2023), Health Canada. Accessed . Full page read. Supports the case-by-case assessment, the statement that an authorization is not an endorsement of the drug, and the class-exemption conditions as they stood in 2023.
- Controlled Substances Regulations, SOR/2025-242, Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 159, Number 26, 17 December 2025. Accessed . Full text read. Supports registration on 28 November 2025, coming into force on 1 October 2026 (section 239), the consolidation and the planned revocation of class exemptions in the Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement, the definition of letter of authorization, sections 6(1), 130(2) and 131(2), and items 8 and 9 (psilocin, psilocybin) in Part 1 of Schedule 4.
- Ontario Poison Centre, Ontario Poison Centre. Accessed . Home page read. Supports the toll-free number 1-800-268-9017 and the statement that the centre is available by phone 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
- 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline, 988.ca. Accessed . Home page read. Supports call or text 9-8-8 and the statement that support is available 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
- Subsection 56(1) class exemption to possess small amounts of certain illegal substances in the province of British Columbia: health care clinics, shelters and private residences, Health Canada. Accessed . Full page read, including the notice that the exemption has expired, the 7 May 2024 effective date, the 2.5 gram cumulative limit and the annex of covered substances (opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA).
- Backgrounder on personal possession of small amounts of certain illegal drugs in British Columbia (7 May 2024), Health Canada. Accessed . Supports the 31 January 2023 start, the planned 31 January 2026 end, the original scope and exceptions, the September 2023 amendment and the May 2024 narrowing. The page itself says it is outdated and points to British Columbia for current information.
- Exemption from Controlled Drugs and Substances Act: personal possession of small amounts of certain illegal drugs in British Columbia (January 31, 2023 to January 31, 2026), Government of Canada Publications, catalogue record H134-27/2022E-PDF. Accessed . Catalogue record read. Supports the 2022 publication year by Health Canada and the exemption period.
- Decriminalizing people who use drugs in B.C. (last updated 29 May 2026), Province of British Columbia. Accessed . Supports the statement that the exemption expired on 31 January 2026 and will not be renewed.
- Bill C-286, 45th Parliament, 1st session (LEGISinfo), Parliament of Canada. Accessed . Page read on 4 October 2026. Supports the sponsor, first reading on 16 June 2026, the status “Outside the Order of Precedence” and the later stages shown as not reached.
- Bill C-286, first reading text, House of Commons of Canada, via the Parliament of Canada. Accessed . Full text read. Supports the summary, the purpose clause and the three amendments described.
- Longitudinal experiences of Canadians receiving compassionate access to psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (de la Salle et al.), Scientific Reports 14:16524, 2024. Accessed . Introduction read. Supports only the history of the first section 56 exemptions in August 2020 and the authors’ statement that the Special Access Program has largely supplanted that pathway; it is a research paper, not an official statement.
CHANGES
- : Published.
- : Added source links beside figures and legal statements.
- : Health Canada updated its psilocybin page on 20 October 2026. Corrected the page date in three places and noted its one change: the clinical-trials section now names the Controlled Substances Regulations.
