Legal status of psilocybin mushrooms

However, psilocybin mushrooms have had numerous medicinal[2][3][4] and religious uses in dozens of cultures throughout history and have a significantly lower potential for abuse than other Schedule I drugs.

[11] In the United States, psilocybin (and psilocin) were first subjected to federal regulation by the Drug Abuse Control Amendments of 1965, a product of a bill sponsored by Senator Thomas J. Dodd.

Johns Hopkins researchers suggest that if psilocybin clears the current phase III clinical trials, it should be re-categorized to a schedule IV drug such as prescription sleep aids, but with tighter control.

However, in many national, state, and provincial drug laws, there has been a great deal of ambiguity about the legal status of psilocybin mushrooms, as well as a strong element of selective enforcement in some places.

Jurisdictions that have specifically enacted or amended laws to criminalize the possession of psilocybin mushroom spores include Germany (since 1998),[18] and California, Georgia, and Idaho in the United States.

[20]: 177–178 On 3 November 2020, voters passed a ballot initiative in Oregon that made "magic mushrooms" legal for mental health treatment in supervised settings from 1 February 2021.

[21][22][23] There currently is a bill pending in the California State Legislature that would legalize the "possession, obtaining, giving away, or transportation of, specified quantities of psilocybin, psilocyn, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), ibogaine, mescaline, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)."

On 5 October 2022, the Canadian province of Alberta announced it would be among the first to regulate and allow the use of psilocybin, LSD, MDMA, mescaline, ketamine, and DMT for medicinal purposes in drug-assisted psychotherapy.

However, some local health and legal authorities have criticized magic mushroom's prohibition, since surveys have showed that it had little impact on decreasing their consumption in the country.

[120][121][122] On 3 November 2020 during 2020 US presidential election, the state of Oregon voted in an initiative to legalize psilocybin for mental health treatment at licensed centers and to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of all drugs.

This also legalized licensed "healing centers" where patients can experience psilocybin under supervision (which may also be expanded to include DMT, ibogaine, and mescaline), also only for those aged 21 and over.