Legal status of psilocybin mushrooms

The legal status of unauthorised actions with psilocybin mushrooms varies worldwide. Psilocybin and psilocin are listed as Schedule I drugs under the United Nations 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances.[1] Schedule I drugs are defined as drugs with a high potential for abuse or drugs that have no recognized medical uses. 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.[5]

Psilocybin mushrooms are not regulated by UN treaties.[6] Many countries, however, have some level of regulation or prohibition of psilocybin mushrooms (for example, the US Psychotropic Substances Act, the UK Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, and the Canadian Controlled Drugs and Substances Act).

In some jurisdictions, Psilocybe spores are legal to sell and possess, because they contain neither psilocybin nor psilocin.[7][citation needed] In other jurisdictions, they are banned because they are items that are used in drug manufacture. A few jurisdictions (such as the US states of California, Georgia and Idaho) have specifically prohibited the sale and possession of psilocybin mushroom spores. Cultivation of psilocybin mushrooms is considered drug manufacture in most jurisdictions and is often severely penalized, though some countries and one US state (New Mexico) has ruled that growing psilocybin mushrooms does not qualify as "manufacturing" a controlled substance.[citation needed]

  1. ^ "List of psychotropic substances under international control" (PDF). International Narcotics Control Board. August 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 December 2005. Retrieved 25 June 2007.
  2. ^ Griffiths & Grob, Roland R. & Charles S. "Hallucinogens as Medicine" (PDF). Scientific American. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  3. ^ Szalavitz, Maia (16 June 2011). "'Magic Mushrooms' Can Improve Psychological Health Long Term". Time. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  4. ^ Griffiths, Roland R. (2011). "Psilocybin occasioned mystical-type experiences: immediate and persisting dose-related effects". Psychopharmacology. 218 (4): 649–665. doi:10.1007/s00213-011-2358-5. PMC 3308357. PMID 21674151.
  5. ^ Jerome, Lisa. "Psilocybin Investigator's Brochure" (PDF). MAPS. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 March 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  6. ^ Schaepe, Herbert (13 September 2001). "UN's INCB Psilocybin Mushroom Policy". Erowid.org. Archived from the original on 12 November 2009. Retrieved 7 January 2012. As you are aware, mushrooms containing the above substances are collected and used for their hallucinogenic effects. As a matter of international law, no plants (natural material) containing psilocin and psilocybin are at present controlled under the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971. Consequently, preparations made of these plants are not under international control and, therefore, not subject of the articles of the 1971 Convention [emphasis added]. Criminal cases are decided with reference to domestic law, which may otherwise provide for controls over mushrooms containing psilocine and psilocybin. As the Board can only speak as to the contours of the international drug conventions, I am unable to provide an opinion on the litigation in question. (Letter from Secretary of the UN International Narcotics Control Board to the Dutch Ministry of Health)
  7. ^ "Psilocybin Spores are Not Controlled". Home Cultivation Association of New York. 2 January 2024. Retrieved 19 March 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

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