Argentina
Psilocybin has mixed legal status in Argentina as of 17 Aug 2026.1
- Corrected and re-checked against 2 cited sources at this review.
1. What the law is
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
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. Pending legislation
No bill is on file in Argentina that would change this record, as of the 17 Aug 2026 review.
3. History
The laws behind today’s status, when each took effect, and every review since, in order.
Mixed status takes effect.
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.
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'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.
4. Trials in Argentina
Interventional psilocybin trials with at least one study site in Argentina, drawn from ClinicalTrials.gov, EU CTIS, and ISRCTN. Registry data is reported by sponsors and shown as filed.
Recruiting, active, completed and closed add up to the 1 trial with a study site in Argentina, as of Aug 2026. Closed covers trials terminated, suspended, withdrawn or left unverified.
| Registry ID | Trial | Phase | Sponsor | Status | Started |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCT05160220 (opens in new tab) | 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 | Started |
ClinicalTrials.gov data courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
5. Common questions
Is psilocybin legal in Argentina?
Psilocybin has mixed legal status in Argentina as of 17 Aug 2026.
Are magic mushrooms ("shrooms") legal in Argentina?
"Magic mushrooms" and "shrooms" are common names for fungi that contain psilocybin. Psilocybin has mixed legal status in Argentina as of 17 Aug 2026. Some laws control the compound and the fungus separately, so this record states the position for psilocybin in Argentina.
Sources and confidence
Every status line is checked against the primary sources below. How each record is graded for confidence is set out in the methodology.
- 1.servicios.infoleg.gob.ar (opens in new tab) · servicios.infoleg.gob.ar
- 2.boletinoficial.gob.ar (opens in new tab) · boletinoficial.gob.ar
Cited at the review
This information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws change frequently, and enforcement practice can differ from the letter of the law. Verify current status with local authorities before relying on this record.
Changes to this record
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.
Argentina: psilocybin legal status. The Psilocybin Record. Accession AR-001. Status as of 17 Aug 2026. https://psilocybinlegalization.com/record/argentina
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