Michael Davis
The decriminalization of psilocybin mushrooms, also known as magic mushrooms, has gained traction in recent years, with an increasing number of jurisdictions relaxing legal restrictions on the substance. Psilocybin is classified as a Schedule I drug, indicating a high potential for abuse and no recognized medical use. However, advocates for decriminalization highlight its therapeutic potential, low risk of abuse, and historical use in various cultures for medicinal and religious purposes. As of 2025, several U.S. cities and states have decriminalized psilocybin mushrooms, including Denver, Colorado, which became the first city to do so in May 2019. The movement towards decriminalization is also gaining momentum globally, with countries such as Canada, Australia, and some European nations exploring regulatory frameworks for psychedelic substances, including psilocybin.
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What You'll Learn
- Psilocybin mushrooms have been decriminalised in some US cities
- The UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances prohibits psilocybin
- Psilocybin is a Schedule I drug with 'no accepted medical use'
- Psilocybin has been used for religious and sacramental purposes
- Studies show psilocybin can improve mental health
Psilocybin mushrooms have been decriminalised in some US cities
Psilocybin mushrooms, commonly known as "magic mushrooms", are classified as a Schedule I controlled substance in the United States, indicating that they have ""no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse". Despite this, psilocybin mushrooms have been decriminalised in several US cities, reflecting a growing movement to relax legal restrictions on the drug.
Denver, Colorado, became the first city in the US to decriminalise psilocybin mushrooms in May 2019, following a ballot initiative that narrowly won with 50.6% of the vote. This initiative prohibited the city of Denver from spending resources to prosecute people for their use or possession of psilocybin mushrooms. Since then, other US cities, including Oakland, Santa Cruz, and several cities in Washington state, have followed suit and decriminalised psilocybin mushrooms.
The movement to decriminalise psilocybin mushrooms is largely driven by the therapeutic potential and relative safety of the drug. Clinical research has found that psilocybin can improve mental health and is effective in treating depression, anxiety, substance use disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Additionally, psilocybin is considered one of the safest known classes of CNS drugs, with a significantly lower potential for abuse and addiction compared to other Schedule I drugs.
While the decriminalisation of psilocybin mushrooms varies across different US cities and states, it generally implies that people can possess or use a personal amount of the substance without facing legal repercussions. This shift in policy allows for the exploration of the therapeutic benefits of psilocybin mushrooms and provides an opportunity to address the current mental health crisis.
However, it is important to note that the commercialisation of psilocybin experiences and the high cost of supervised mushroom trips in states like Oregon have raised concerns about access and equity. There are also worries that pharmaceutical companies will take control of a natural medicine, impacting its availability and affordability for those who need it. Despite these challenges, the decriminalisation of psilocybin mushrooms in some US cities marks a significant step towards recognising the therapeutic value of psychedelics and their potential to enhance mental well-being.
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The UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances prohibits psilocybin
The use, sale, and possession of psilocybin in the United States are illegal under federal law. Psilocybin is a psychedelic drug produced naturally by psilocybin mushrooms, commonly known as "magic mushrooms". Psilocybin was first subjected to federal regulation in the US by the Drug Abuse Control Amendments of 1965. It was banned by the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, which classified it as a Schedule I controlled substance with "no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse".
The United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances, adopted in 1971, requires its members to prohibit psilocybin. The treaty parties must restrict the use of the drug to medical and scientific research under strictly controlled conditions. However, the mushrooms containing the drug were not specifically included in the convention, largely due to pressure from the Mexican government. The Mexican delegation argued that "production" of psychotropic drugs should not apply to wild-growing plants such as peyote cacti or psilocybin mushrooms.
The 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances lists psilocybin and psilocin as Schedule I drugs, which are defined as drugs with a high potential for abuse and no recognized medical uses. However, this classification is disputed, as psilocybin mushrooms have had numerous medicinal and religious uses in various cultures throughout history and have a significantly lower potential for abuse than other Schedule I drugs.
Despite the UN convention, many countries have some level of regulation or prohibition of psilocybin mushrooms. For example, the US Psychotropic Substances Act, the UK Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, the Canadian Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, and the Japanese Narcotics and Psychotropics Control Law of 2002 have all been amended to reflect the terms of the convention.
In recent years, there has been a growing movement to decriminalize psilocybin in the United States. As of August 2024, decriminalization efforts have not included synthetic psychedelics such as LSD and MDMA. Several US cities, including Denver, Colorado, Oakland, California, Santa Cruz, California, and Somerville, Massachusetts, have decriminalized psilocybin through ballot initiatives or city council votes. In November 2020, Oregon became the first state to decriminalize psilocybin, followed by Colorado in 2022.
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Psilocybin is a Schedule I drug with 'no accepted medical use'
Psilocybin is a Schedule I drug, which means that it has "no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse". Schedule I drugs are considered to have no currently accepted medical treatment use in the U.S. and a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision. According to federal law, no prescriptions may be written for Schedule I substances, and they are not readily available for clinical use. Psilocybin is a psychedelic drug naturally produced by psilocybin mushrooms, commonly known as "magic mushrooms".
The use, sale, and possession of psilocybin are illegal under federal law in the United States and it was banned by the 1970 Controlled Substances Act. Psilocybin mushrooms have been used by Indigenous cultures for centuries for religious and sacramental purposes and have had numerous medicinal and religious uses in dozens of cultures throughout history. In recent years, there has been a growing movement to decriminalize psilocybin, with advocates pointing to the rapid legalization of cannabis in the United States as a precedent.
In May 2019, Denver, Colorado became the first city in the United States to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms, with a ballot initiative that narrowly won with 50.6% of the vote. The initiative did not legalize mushrooms but prohibited Denver from spending resources to prosecute people for their use or possession. Since then, several other U.S. cities have followed suit, including Oakland, California; Santa Cruz, California; and Somerville, Massachusetts. In November 2020, Oregon became the first state to decriminalize psilocybin, with the passing of two measures: the Psilocybin Service Initiative (PSI 2020) and the Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act (DATRA). PSI 2020 legalized supervised psilocybin-assisted therapy programs in controlled settings, while DATRA decriminalized the possession of limited amounts of all controlled substances.
While the decriminalization movement has gained momentum, it is important to note that psilocybin remains a Schedule I drug under federal law and is still illegal in most places. The legal status of psilocybin mushrooms varies worldwide, with some countries and jurisdictions specifically prohibiting the sale and possession of psilocybin mushroom spores. However, there has been a great deal of ambiguity about the legal status of psilocybin mushrooms in many national, state, and provincial drug laws, and a strong element of selective enforcement in some places.
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Psilocybin has been used for religious and sacramental purposes
Psilocybin, the main psychoactive compound in psilocybe mushrooms, has been used for religious and sacramental purposes by Indigenous cultures for centuries. In the early 1960s, Walter Pahnke, a doctoral candidate at Harvard University, developed the Mystical Experience Questionnaire, which was used in his 1962 Good Friday Experiment in Boston. The study found that psilocybin induced a sense of sacredness, transcendence of time and space, and alleged ineffability in its participants.
The history of psychedelics in religion is long and mysterious, with archaeological evidence suggesting that mushrooms have been used in religious ceremonies and rituals for at least 6,000 years. Pre-Incan civilizations consumed the San Pedro cactus, which contains mescaline, and Vedic and Zoroastrian traditions consumed soma, which some scholars believe may have been based on mushrooms containing psychoactive ingredients. Bantu diviners use psychedelic herbs called ubulawu during healing ceremonies, and early Christians may have consumed sacramental wine laced with a psychoactive ingredient.
In the 20th century, international treaties such as the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 and the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 outlawed many of these religious practices. However, there is a vast body of legal exemptions to the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) for religious drug usage. For example, the Native American Church (NAC) uses peyote, a cactus containing mescaline, as a key component of its religious ceremonies. During a time when many Indigenous groups were losing their land and being forced into residential schools, peyote became a way to heal trauma and maintain cultural autonomy. NAC members have won several legal battles affirming their right to use peyote for religious purposes.
While the use, sale, and possession of psilocybin mushrooms are illegal under federal law in the United States, several cities and states have decriminalized or legalized the drug in recent years. In May 2019, Denver, Colorado, became the first city in the United States to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms, followed by Oakland and Santa Cruz, California, in 2019 and 2020, respectively. In November 2020, Oregon passed two historic measures: The Psilocybin Service Initiative (PSI 2020) and the Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act (DATRA). PSI 2020 legalized supervised psilocybin-assisted therapy programs in controlled settings, while DATRA decriminalized the possession of limited amounts of all controlled substances. In March 2025, Colorado State Regulators issued the first sets of Licenses for Medical Assisted Use, marking the beginning of state-regulated psychedelic mushrooms in the state.
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Studies show psilocybin can improve mental health
The use, sale, and possession of psilocybin in the United States are illegal under federal law. Psilocybin is a psychedelic drug produced naturally by psilocybin mushrooms, commonly known as "magic mushrooms". In the US, it is federally classified as a Schedule I controlled substance with "no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse". Despite this, several US cities have decriminalized psilocybin through ballot initiatives or city council votes.
Psilocybin has been used by Indigenous cultures for centuries for religious and sacramental purposes. Ingesting it can lead to dramatically altered perceptions, often characterized by a dissolution of the ego, feelings of unity and connectedness with the world or others, transcendence of time and space, and a sense of awe and wonder.
A wave of clinical research finds that psilocybin can improve mental health through these psychological experiences. While the list of conditions is growing, many studies so far have focused on psilocybin's potential for treating depression. Multiple clinical trials support psilocybin's ability to reduce depression symptom severity, including in people with treatment-resistant depression. A recent phase 2 double-blind trial—the largest to date—showed that a single 25 mg dose of synthetic psilocybin administered in conjunction with psychotherapy led to significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms after 3 weeks compared to the control dose (1 mg).
In a small study of adults with major depression, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers reported that two doses of psilocybin, given with supportive psychotherapy, produced rapid and large reductions in depressive symptoms, with most participants showing improvement and half achieving remission through the four-week follow-up. In a follow-up study of those participants, researchers reported that the substantial antidepressant effects of psilocybin-assisted therapy may last at least a year for some patients.
Psilocybin has also been shown to be effective in treating anxiety disorders, OCD, suicidality, alcohol use disorder, and tobacco use disorder. In a study of hallucinogen-naive adults, psilocybin sessions resulted in significantly increased ratings of positive attitudes, mood, social effects, and behavior compared to methylphenidate sessions. The authors felt that the biggest finding of their study was that a large percentage of the patients rated their psilocybin experience as one of the most meaningful experiences of their lives.
Despite the potential benefits of psilocybin, obtaining funding for studies can be challenging due to the stigmatization of the compound. However, as more trials emerge demonstrating its potential benefits, there may be a greater push and incentive for investment.
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Frequently asked questions
Decriminalization of psilocybin mushrooms began in May 2019 in Denver, Colorado, when a ballot initiative decriminalizing the use and possession of mushrooms containing psilocybin narrowly won with 50.6% of the vote.
Other cities in the United States that have decriminalized psilocybin mushrooms include Oakland, Santa Cruz, Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, and Arcata.
Decriminalization of psilocybin mushrooms means that law enforcement will deprioritize arrests for possession or use of the substance, and resources will not be spent prosecuting people for their use or possession. However, it is important to note that decriminalization does not mean legalization, and commercial sale is still illegal.
Advocates for decriminalizing psilocybin mushrooms argue that it has therapeutic potential and is relatively safe compared to other substances. Psilocybin has been shown to have positive psychological effects in treating depression, anxiety, substance use disorders, and enhancing the well-being of healthy individuals. Additionally, psilocybin has been used by Indigenous cultures for centuries for religious and sacramental purposes.
