1. What the law is
The official text has now been read, and it settles a contradiction this entry carried for months. Two secondary accounts disagreed over simple possession. The state gazette resolves it: a 2023 amending law added a new paragraph to the Criminal Code providing that a person who possesses narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances for personal use shall not be punished. Supply offenses stay criminal, the separate offense of enabling use sits alongside them, and using drugs in public remains a misdemeanor against public order carrying a fine in denar equivalent. The recorded status is left unchanged pending review, because the statute says such a person shall not be punished rather than that the conduct is no longer an offense.
2. History
The legal events behind this entry, dated and oldest first. Our own reviews and corrections are listed under Changes to this record.
No reform legislation on file for North Macedonia yet. If one passes, it appears here, dated.
3. Proposed laws
No proposed law is on file in North Macedonia that would change this entry, as of the 18 Aug 2026 review.
4. Common questions
Is psilocybin legal in North Macedonia?
Psilocybin has mixed legal status in North Macedonia.
Are magic mushrooms ("shrooms") legal in North Macedonia?
"Magic mushrooms" and "shrooms" are common names for fungi that contain psilocybin, and this entry states the law on psilocybin itself, which some laws treat separately from the fungus. Psilocybin has mixed legal status in North Macedonia.
Read the law
Krivicen zakonik (Criminal Code), Sluzben vesnik na RM no. 37/1996 as amended. Article 215 punishes unauthorized production, processing, sale or offer for sale, purchase, holding or transport for the purpose of sale, mediation and other supply of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors with 3 to 10 years imprisonment, reduced to 6 months to 3 years where the quantity is smaller and raised to at least 5 years for a group or the organizer of a reseller network; the 3 to 10 year range was set by the amending law at Sluzben vesnik no. 114/2009, article 54, replacing the original 1 to 10 years. Article 215 paragraph (6), added by Sluzben vesnik no. 36/2023, article 25, provides that a person who possesses narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances for personal use shall not be punished. Article 216, enabling the use of narcotic drugs, carries 1 to 5 years, rising to 1 to 10 years where committed against a child aged 14 or older, against several persons or with particularly grave consequences, and at least 4 years against a child under 14. Zakon za prekrsocite protiv javniot red i mir (Law on Misdemeanors Against Public Order and Peace), Sluzben vesnik no. 66/2007, article 20 punishes indulging in the use of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors as a misdemeanor with a fine of 100 to 250 euros in denar equivalent, the amount set by Sluzben vesnik no. 171/2022, article 17.1
Sources
This entry's status is checked against the primary sources below, and the methodology explains how each entry is graded for confidence.
- 1.slvesnik.com.mk (opens in new tab) · slvesnik.com.mk
- 2.European Union Drugs Agency.European Union Drugs Agency (opens in new tab) · euda.europa.eu
This entry is for information only and is not legal or medical advice. Laws change, and enforcement can differ from the letter of the law, so check the current position against the primary sources above before relying on it.
Changes to this record
3 changes on file, the latest on . Show allHide
Every change we have made to this record, dated, corrections included. Nothing changes silently.
North Macedonia's entry had no official source and applied one article's prison range to two different offenses. The gazette has now been read: the range belongs to the supply offense, the separate offense of enabling use carries one to five years, and a 2023 amendment says a person holding drugs for personal use is not to be punished.
North Macedonia's entry is re-checked with no change found. The contradiction between how possession is written and how it is prosecuted stands, and we still have no official text of the Criminal Code to check either against.
North Macedonia had been listed as decriminalized. Drug use is a fine-only misdemeanor there, but possession is treated as criminal and is prosecuted in practice, and the available sources contradict each other on where the line sits. The status is changed to mixed.
Psilocybin Media Group. "North Macedonia: psilocybin legal status." The Psilocybin Record, accession MK-001, version of 23 Aug 2026. https://psilocybinlegalization.com/record/north-macedonia