THE JOURNAL · LAW TRACKER
Psilocybin law, place by place.
How psilocybin and magic mushrooms are regulated in Canada, its provinces, the United States and other countries. Every entry says what the official texts say and the date we checked them.
This is general information, not legal advice. Laws change, and these summaries leave out detail that matters in practice. Nothing here tells you what is lawful for you to do; check the official sources linked on each entry, and ask a lawyer about your own situation.
On the map.
- Controlled, research and exceptions only
- Narrow medical route
- Possession decriminalized
- Mushrooms treated differently
- Not in the tracker
At a glance.
| Jurisdiction | Type of rule | In brief |
|---|---|---|
| United Nations (1971 Convention) | International treaty | Psilocybin and psilocin are in the treaty’s Schedule I; the mushrooms themselves are not listed. |
| Canada (federal) | Controlled, research and exceptions only | Psilocin and psilocybin are in Schedule III of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. |
| Ontario | Controlled, research and exceptions only | Federal law applies; Ontario has no exemption or psilocybin therapy framework of its own. |
| British Columbia | Controlled, research and exceptions only | Federal law applies; BC’s drug-possession exemption never covered psilocybin and has expired. |
| Alberta | Controlled, research and exceptions only | Federal law applies; since 2023 Alberta also licenses clinics that give psychedelic drug treatment. |
| United States (federal) | Controlled, research and exceptions only | Psilocybin and psilocyn are in Schedule I of the federal controlled-substances rules. |
| Oregon | Supervised adult-use program | State-licensed psilocybin services for adults 21 and over, at licensed service centres. |
| Colorado | Supervised adult-use program | Licensed healing centres plus a personal-use framework for adults 21 and over. |
| New Mexico | Narrow medical route | A state medical psilocybin program was enacted in 2025; the law gives the health department until the end of 2027 to implement it. |
| Arizona | Controlled, research and exceptions only | A conditional “trigger” law, not an access program: prescribing could follow a federal approval. |
| United Kingdom | Controlled, research and exceptions only | Psilocin and its esters, including psilocybin, are Class A; since 2005 so is any fungus containing them, fresh or dried. |
| Germany | Controlled, research and exceptions only; Narrow medical route | Psilocybin and psilocin are non-marketable narcotics; a confirmed compassionate-use programme covers treatment-resistant depression. |
| Switzerland | Controlled, research and exceptions only; Narrow medical route | Psilocybin, psilocin and hallucinogenic mushrooms are prohibited narcotics; the federal health office can permit limited medical use case by case. |
| Czech Republic | Controlled, research and exceptions only; Narrow medical route | Since 1 January 2026, psilocybin can be used medically in authorized psychiatric settings; otherwise it remains controlled. |
| Portugal | Possession decriminalized | Possessing drugs for personal use, psilocybin included, is an administrative offence rather than a crime; there is no lawful supply. |
| Brazil | Controlled, research and exceptions only; Mushrooms treated differently | Psilocybin and psilocin are prohibited substances; the list of prohibited plants and fungi does not name psilocybin mushrooms. |
| New Zealand | Controlled, research and exceptions only; Narrow medical route | Psilocybin is a Class A controlled drug; a named doctor can be approved to prescribe it, for pharmaceutical-grade product only. |
| Australia | Narrow medical route | Schedule 8 only for treatment-resistant depression, through an authorized psychiatrist or a trial. |
| Netherlands | Controlled, research and exceptions only; Mushrooms treated differently | The compounds are on List I and the mushrooms on List II of the Opium Act; truffles were said to fall outside it. |
Jurisdiction by jurisdiction.
Showing 19 of 19
United Nations (1971 Convention)
Psilocybin and psilocin are in the treaty’s Schedule I; the mushrooms themselves are not listed.
The 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances asks parties to prohibit all use of Schedule I substances except for scientific and very limited medical purposes. It binds states, not individuals. In 2010 the International Narcotics Control Board said no plants are controlled under the Convention, naming magic mushrooms as an example, and suggested countries consider controlling them nationally.
- Lawful routes
- Scientific and very limited medical use, as each country authorizes.
Checked 4 October 2026 · Sources: Convention on Psychotropic Substances, 1971 (UNODC); UN Treaty Collection: status of the Convention; INCB annual report 2010
Canada (federal)
Psilocin and psilocybin are in Schedule III of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
Health Canada says the production, sale and possession of magic mushrooms are illegal unless Health Canada authorizes them. 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. Bill C-286, a private member’s bill about psilocybin, has had only first reading.
- Lawful routes
- Clinical trials, the Special Access Program (a practitioner’s request) and individual section 56(1) exemptions.
Checked 4 October 2026 · Sources: Health Canada: Psilocybin and psilocin (magic mushrooms); Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (Justice Laws); Controlled Substances Regulations, SOR/2025-242 (Canada Gazette)
Ontario
Federal law applies; Ontario has no exemption or psilocybin therapy framework of its own.
Magic mushrooms are illegal in Ontario because federal law controls them across Canada, and Toronto cannot issue an exemption. Ontario adds its own driving penalties for drug impairment. Police statements about enforcement priorities do not change the law.
- Lawful routes
- The federal routes only: clinical trials, the Special Access Program and section 56(1) exemptions.
Checked 4 October 2026 · Sources: Health Canada: Psilocybin and psilocin (magic mushrooms); Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (Justice Laws); Highway Traffic Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8 (e-Laws)
British Columbia
Federal law applies; BC’s drug-possession exemption never covered psilocybin and has expired.
BC’s provincial exemption for possessing small amounts of some drugs listed opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA, did not name psilocybin, and expired on 31 January 2026 without renewal. We found no Vancouver or BC exemption that makes psilocybin lawful for the public.
- Lawful routes
- The federal routes only: clinical trials, the Special Access Program and section 56(1) exemptions.
Checked 14 October 2026 · Sources: Health Canada: Psilocybin and psilocin (magic mushrooms); Health Canada fact sheet: BC exemption for personal possession; Government of BC: Decriminalizing people who use drugs
Alberta
Federal law applies; since 2023 Alberta also licenses clinics that give psychedelic drug treatment.
Since 16 January 2023, clinics offering psychedelic drug treatment for psychiatric disorders need a provincial licence, a psychiatrist as medical director, and must follow rules on prescribing, where the drug is given and monitoring. The provincial licence is not a federal authorization and does not allow anyone to sell psilocybin.
- Lawful routes
- The federal routes, delivered under Alberta’s clinic rules where they apply.
Checked 17 October 2026 · Sources: Health Canada: Psilocybin and psilocin (magic mushrooms); Mental Health Services Protection Regulation, AR 114/2021 (King’s Printer); Government of Alberta: psychedelic drug treatment service provider licensing
Full guide: Psilocybin in Alberta: the law and the therapy rules
United States (federal)
Psilocybin and psilocyn are in Schedule I of the federal controlled-substances rules.
Federal law lists psilocybin and psilocyn in Schedule I. State programmes such as Oregon’s and Colorado’s do not change the federal listing; Oregon’s health authority says so itself.
- Lawful routes
- Federally authorized research.
Checked 4 October 2026 · Sources: 21 CFR 1308.11, Schedule I (eCFR)
Oregon
State-licensed psilocybin services for adults 21 and over, at licensed service centres.
Ballot Measure 109 (November 2020) created the programme, codified in ORS 475A. The Oregon Health Authority began accepting licence applications on 2 January 2023, and service centres began opening to clients in the summer of 2023. Clients complete a preparation session with a licensed facilitator. Psilocybin remains federally Schedule I.
- Lawful routes
- Supervised sessions at licensed service centres under state law.
Checked 10 October 2026 · Sources: Oregon Health Authority: Oregon Psilocybin Services; ORS Chapter 475A, Psilocybin Regulation
Full guide: Oregon and Colorado psilocybin programs explained
Colorado
Licensed healing centres plus a personal-use framework for adults 21 and over.
Voters passed the Natural Medicine Health Act (Proposition 122) in November 2022. The state’s Natural Medicine Division began accepting licence applications on 31 December 2024 and issued the first healing-centre licence in spring 2025. HB26-1325, signed on 4 June 2026, added a limited sales licence for healing centres, according to the division’s summary.
- Lawful routes
- Supervised sessions at licensed healing centres under state law.
Checked 10 October 2026 · Sources: Colorado Natural Medicine Division: About Us; Colorado Natural Medicine Division
Full guide: Oregon and Colorado psilocybin programs explained
New Mexico
A state medical psilocybin program was enacted in 2025; the law gives the health department until the end of 2027 to implement it.
The Medical Psilocybin Act (Senate Bill 219, signed 7 April 2025) sets up a Department of Health program for qualified patients with major treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, substance use disorders or end-of-life care needs, and removes psilocybin and psilocin from the state’s Schedule I for use under the act. The enacted text sets 31 December 2027 as the implementation deadline; in May 2026 the rules were still in progress. Federal law is unchanged.
- Lawful routes
- When implemented: qualified patients through the state program.
Checked 17 October 2026 · Sources: SB 219, final enacted version (New Mexico Legislature); New Mexico Department of Health: Medical Psilocybin Program
Arizona
A conditional “trigger” law, not an access program: prescribing could follow a federal approval.
Laws 2025, chapter 231 (SB 1555) would allow an FDA-approved form of psilocybin to be prescribed in Arizona if the DEA moves it out of Schedule I. It only takes effect if that federal approval happens on or before 1 January 2031.
- Lawful routes
- None today beyond federally authorized research.
Checked 17 October 2026 · Sources: Arizona Laws 2025, Chapter 231 (SB 1555)
United Kingdom
Psilocin and its esters, including psilocybin, are Class A; since 2005 so is any fungus containing them, fresh or dried.
The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 lists psilocin (and, through its esters, psilocybin) as Class A. Section 21 of the Drugs Act 2005 added “fungus (of any kind) which contains psilocin or an ester of psilocin”, covering fresh as well as dried mushrooms. The regulations exempt only fungus growing wild, or picked to hand to a lawful custodian or to destroy.
- Lawful routes
- Licensed research; there is no general medical access route.
Checked 17 October 2026 · Sources: Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, Schedule 2 (legislation.gov.uk); Drugs Act 2005, section 21 (legislation.gov.uk); Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001, regulation 4A
Germany
Psilocybin and psilocin are non-marketable narcotics; a confirmed compassionate-use programme covers treatment-resistant depression.
Annex I of the Narcotics Act (BtMG) lists psilocybin and psilocin, and it extends to biological material such as fungi when intended for misuse as an intoxicant. The federal drug regulator BfArM lists a confirmed compassionate-use (hardship) programme for psilocybin in treatment-resistant depression, run by the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim.
- Lawful routes
- Clinical trials and the confirmed compassionate-use programme.
Checked 17 October 2026 · Sources: BtMG Annex I (gesetze-im-internet.de); BfArM: confirmed compassionate-use programmes
Switzerland
Psilocybin, psilocin and hallucinogenic mushrooms are prohibited narcotics; the federal health office can permit limited medical use case by case.
The federal narcotics list (BetmVV-EDI, list d) names psilocybin, psilocin and hallucinogenic mushrooms of the genera Conocybe, Panaeolus, Psilocybe and Stropharia. Under the Narcotics Act, the Federal Office of Public Health can grant exceptional permits for limited medical use, applied for by the treating doctor with the patient’s written consent when strict conditions are met; an expert report for the office describes psilocybin being used this way.
- Lawful routes
- Exceptional permits from the Federal Office of Public Health; research.
Checked 17 October 2026 · Sources: BetmVV-EDI narcotics lists, as of 13 March 2026 (Fedlex); Federal Office of Public Health: limited medical use of prohibited narcotics
Czech Republic
Since 1 January 2026, psilocybin can be used medically in authorized psychiatric settings; otherwise it remains controlled.
Act No. 270/2025 Coll. amended the Addictive Substances Act and the Medicines Act to allow psilocybin for medical use, as an individually prepared medicine given to adults in Ministry of Health psychiatric facilities or other permitted settings, under a clinical guideline and specialist supervision. Outside that route psilocybin remains a controlled substance.
- Lawful routes
- Medical use in authorized psychiatric settings; research.
Checked 17 October 2026 · Sources: Act No. 270/2025 Coll. (e-Sbírka, official collection of laws)
Portugal
Possessing drugs for personal use, psilocybin included, is an administrative offence rather than a crime; there is no lawful supply.
Under Law 30/2000, using, acquiring or holding listed substances for personal use is an administrative offence handled by a Commission for the Dissuasion of Drug Addiction, not a crime. Psilocybin and psilocin are in Table II-A of Decree-Law 15/93; the tables do not name the mushrooms. A 2023 amendment made the quantity threshold an indicator rather than a fixed limit.
- Lawful routes
- None for supply or medical use; possession for personal use is handled administratively.
Checked 17 October 2026 · Sources: Law 30/2000 (Diário da República); Law 55/2023 (Diário da República); Law 9/2023, amending the Decree-Law 15/93 tables
Brazil
Psilocybin and psilocin are prohibited substances; the list of prohibited plants and fungi does not name psilocybin mushrooms.
Anvisa’s controlled-substance lists put psilocybin and psilocin on List F2 (prohibited psychotropic substances). List E, which names prohibited plants and fungi, does not name any psilocybin-containing mushroom. The list alone does not settle how the mushrooms themselves are treated, and it does not make them legal.
- Lawful routes
- Authorized research.
Checked 17 October 2026 · Sources: RDC Anvisa nº 999/2025, update of Annex I to Portaria 344/98
New Zealand
Psilocybin is a Class A controlled drug; a named doctor can be approved to prescribe it, for pharmaceutical-grade product only.
Psilocybin is Class A under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 and has no approved medicine. Under the regulations, Medsafe can approve a named medical practitioner to prescribe, supply and administer it outside research; a Ministry of Health briefing from June 2025 reports a psychiatrist approved for treatment-resistant depression. Medsafe’s guidelines require pharmaceutical-grade product, not mushrooms or non-pharmaceutical extracts.
- Lawful routes
- Medsafe-approved prescribers; research.
Checked 17 October 2026 · Sources: Medsafe: approval to prescribe psychedelics; Medsafe guidelines for applications (v1.0); Ministry of Health briefing on psychedelic-assisted therapy (June 2025)
Australia
Schedule 8 only for treatment-resistant depression, through an authorized psychiatrist or a trial.
The national Poisons Standard lists psilocybine in Schedule 8 only in preparations for human therapeutic use for treatment-resistant depression, supplied through a specialist psychiatrist with an authority under the Therapeutic Goods Act or an approved clinical trial. Otherwise psilocybine and psilocine are in Schedule 9 (prohibited substances). States and territories may implement it differently.
- Lawful routes
- Authorized specialist psychiatrists (treatment-resistant depression) and approved clinical trials.
Checked 4 October 2026 · Sources: Poisons Standard, October 2026 (F2026L01327)
Netherlands
The compounds are on List I and the mushrooms on List II of the Opium Act; truffles were said to fall outside it.
Psilocine and psilocybine are on List I of the Opium Act, and mushrooms that naturally contain them were added to List II in 2008. A 2011 written answer from the Health Minister said psychedelic truffles (sclerotia) are not covered by the Opium Act; we found no recent official page restating that position.
- Lawful routes
- None for the public under the Opium Act; the 2011 answer on truffles is dated.
Checked 4 October 2026 · Sources: Opium Act (wetten.overheid.nl); Dutch government answer on truffles, 2011
How to read the tracker.
- Controlled, research and exceptions only: the compounds are controlled drugs, and lawful use is limited to research and case-by-case exceptions.
- Narrow medical route: the law allows prescribing in defined circumstances, for example by an authorized specialist for one condition.
- Supervised adult-use program: a state licenses places where adults take psilocybin under supervision, outside a medical prescription.
- Mushrooms treated differently: the law handles the mushrooms (or related forms, like truffles) differently from the compounds.
- Local or provincial rules sit on top of national law. In Canada and the United States, a provincial or state rule does not change federal law.
Keep reading.
- The State of Psilocybin in Canada, 2026: a sourced report with charts and key findings
- Psilocybin laws around the world: how Canada compares
- Psilocybin penalties in Canada
- How magic mushrooms became illegal in Canada
- Psilocybin clinical trials in Canada: live tracker
Most recent check: . Spotted a change in the law? Each entry links its official sources, which are the place to confirm.