Psilocybe - Legal Status

Legal Status

The purified chemicals psilocybin and psilocin are listed as Schedule I drugs under the United Nations 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances. However, the UN drug treaties do not apply to cultivation, preparation, or international transport of psilocybin mushrooms.

Internationally, the two chemicals are generally considered controlled substances. However, there is much ambiguity about what is considered a "container" of these compounds in several countries (e.g. Brazil), the chemicals themselves are listed as controlled substances, but the mushrooms that contain the chemicals are not, therefore deemed legal. In the United States, possession of Psilocybe mushroom fruiting bodies is illegal in every state except for Florida. This is because the Supreme Court of Florida does not believe that these mushrooms could "reasonably be found to be containers of the schedule I substance, psilocybin".

In the United States there is no federal law mentioning the possession of Psilocybe spores, this is due to the fact that only the psilocybin and psilocin compounds are considered Schedule I drugs and there is no presence of these compounds in the spores themselves, only in the fruiting body of the cultivated spores. However, there are several US states that have actually prohibited possession of these spores due to the fact that they can be cultivated to produce these hallucinogenic, Schedule I drugs. These states includes California, Georgia, and Idaho.

However, possession of the spores by a qualified mycologist in California is legal if being put to use for research purposes, which must be approved by Research Advisory Panel. If not authorized by law, possession of spores or cultivation of fruiting bodies of the Psilocybe genus is punishable to not more than one year in county jail or state prison.

Psilocybin mushrooms as well as other "soft drugs" which are stronger than cannabis but not synthetic, are legally available through smart shops in Amsterdam. Only the truffle form of magic mushrooms (such as Psilocybe tampanensis) are currently legal, but these still contain the active ingredients and produce similar effect as the caps and stalks.