1. What the law is
Argentina's Supreme Court held in 2009 that punishing possession for personal consumption which harms no one is unconstitutional. The police were never bound by it. That ruling, known as Arriola, carries no automatic general effect, so lower courts dismiss such cases one at a time while officers keep detaining people over small amounts. Law 23.737 still makes possession for personal use a criminal offense, and Congress has never reformed it. The statute itself names no drug. It hands the national Executive the power to set and update the controlled list by decree, and the list in force is the annex to Decree 122/2026.
2. Trials in Argentina
Interventional psilocybin trials with at least one site in Argentina, as their sponsors filed them with ClinicalTrials.gov, EU CTIS and ISRCTN. Each row links to the registry record, which sets out who may take part.
Recruiting or opening counts trials recruiting now, not yet recruiting, or enrolling by invitation. Closed counts trials terminated, suspended, withdrawn or left unverified by their sponsors.
| Registry ID | Trial | Phase | Sponsor | Status | Start date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCT05160220 | Naturalistic Study of Microdosing With Psilocybin (opens in new tab)Site at Instituto de Fisica de Buenos Aires (IFIBA), Buenos Aires | Phase Not applicable | Sponsor National Council of Scientific and Technical Research, Argentina | Status Completed | Start date |
ClinicalTrials.gov data courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
3. History
The legal events behind this entry, dated and oldest first. Our own reviews and corrections are listed under Changes to this record.
Mixed status takes effect.
4. Proposed laws
No proposed law is on file in Argentina that would change this entry, as of the 17 Aug 2026 review.
5. Common questions
Is psilocybin legal in Argentina?
Psilocybin has mixed legal status in Argentina.
Are magic mushrooms ("shrooms") legal in Argentina?
"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 Argentina.
Read the law
Law 23.737 (1989), art. 14: possession for personal use remains a criminal offense de jure. Art. 40 rewrites the last paragraph of art. 77 of the Criminal Code so that the term estupefacientes covers substances included in lists drawn up and updated periodically by decree of the national Executive; the statute itself names no substance. The list in force is the annex to Decree 122/2026, published 2 March 2026. CSJN 'Arriola' ruling (Aug 25, 2009) declared art. 14(2) unconstitutional for personal possession that does not affect third parties.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.servicios.infoleg.gob.ar (opens in new tab) · servicios.infoleg.gob.ar
- 2.boletinoficial.gob.ar (opens in new tab) · boletinoficial.gob.ar
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.
Argentina's entry now cites the instrument that actually lists psilocybin. The statute it cited before, Law 23.737, never names the substance: it defines controlled drugs by reference to lists that the executive sets by decree, and the decree in force is Decree 122/2026.
Argentina's drug statute still criminalizes possession while courts apply the 2009 personal-use doctrine case by case. Nothing is pending, and the record now cites the law itself.
Argentina was moved out of the decriminalized column. The statute still makes possession a crime, and the Supreme Court's 2009 ruling is applied case by case rather than across the board.
Psilocybin Media Group. "Argentina: psilocybin legal status." The Psilocybin Record, accession AR-001, version of 23 Aug 2026. https://psilocybinlegalization.com/record/argentina