California
Psilocybin is decriminalized in California as of 16 Aug 2026. City level only; illegal under state law.1
- Checked against 2 cited sources at this review.
1. What the law is
City resolutions: Oakland (2019), Santa Cruz (2020), Arcata (2021), San Francisco (2022), Berkeley (2023), Eureka (2023). Statewide: SB 58 vetoed (Oct 2023). AB 1103 / Chapter 571, Statutes of 2025, approved by the Governor October 10, 2025: requires the Research Advisory Panel to review research projects requiring the administration of Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substances, and authorizes the panel to expedite review of qualifying projects and to approve them through two or more deputized members without a full-panel vote. The act names neither psilocybin nor psychedelics; psilocybin is reached as a Schedule I substance. The expedited pathway, the deputized-reviewer mechanism and the panel's Bagley-Keene closed-session authority are authorized until January 1, 2028.1
Six cities have told their police to treat psilocybin as a low enforcement priority: Oakland (2019), Santa Cruz (2020), Arcata (2021), San Francisco (2022), Berkeley and Eureka (2023). A city resolution is not a defense in a state prosecution. SB 58 would have gone statewide and Governor Newsom vetoed it in October 2023. AB 1103, signed in October 2025, lets the state Research Advisory Panel fast-track its review of research using Schedule I and Schedule II drugs, psilocybin included, until January 1, 2028.
The reform California came closest to enacting was Senate Bill 58, which would have decriminalized possession of psilocybin, DMT and mescaline. It passed both chambers of the state legislature in 2023, and Governor Newsom vetoed it that October, saying he supported a therapeutic framework but not broad decriminalization without a regulated system behind it. What has moved instead is local: six city councils have told their police to treat enforcement against entheogenic plants and fungi as a low priority, in Oakland in 2019, Santa Cruz in 2020, Arcata in 2021, San Francisco in 2022, and Berkeley and Eureka in 2023. None of that changes state law, which still prohibits psilocybin, and a council resolution is not a defense in a state prosecution. What California has enacted since is narrower than either: Assembly Bill 1103, signed on October 10, 2025 as Chapter 571, lets the state Research Advisory Panel expedite its review of research projects using Schedule I or Schedule II substances, psilocybin among them, until January 1, 2028.
California's trajectory has run from local deprioritization to state-level legislative attempts, with the governor as the gatekeeper: Newsom's veto message called for a therapeutic model rather than decriminalization. The 2026 session carried two measures naming psilocybin. Senate Bill 1224, the Emerging Therapies Research Partnership Act, would fund federally registered clinical trials through a state research partnership; it was held in the Assembly Appropriations suspense file on August 13, 2026. Assembly Bill 2489 would expedite state approval of controlled-substance clinical trials; it was held in the same suspense file on May 14, 2026. Neither has become law, and state law still prohibits psilocybin.
2. Pending legislation
Introduced but not yet law. If a bill passes, this record changes with it.
SB 1224 (2026), the Emerging Therapies Research Partnership Act, authored by Jones, Becker and Wiener, names psilocybin in Section 11730.5(c) among the emerging therapies a state research partnership fund would support in federally registered clinical trials. The fund would be administered by the Department of Health Care Services with CalVet, would make University of California anchor-institution grants and would bid for federal ARPA-H money, with a veterans focus. It was held in the Assembly Appropriations suspense file on Aug 13, 2026. AB 2489 (2026) would expedite state approval of controlled-substance clinical trials, psilocybin included; it passed Assembly Health 16-0 on Apr 7, 2026 and was held under submission in the Assembly Appropriations suspense file on May 14, 2026.
3. History
The laws behind today’s status, when each took effect, and every review since, in order.
Oakland City Council deprioritized enforcement against natural psychedelics (Resolution 87657).
Decriminalized status takes effect.
Santa Cruz City Council passed similar deprioritization resolution.
Arcata City Council adopted Resolution 212-17, deprioritizing enforcement against entheogenic plants and fungi.
San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed deprioritization resolution.
SB 58 (Wiener) passed both state legislature chambers.
Berkeley City Council adopted a resolution deprioritizing enforcement for personal use and cultivation of entheogenic plants and fungi.
Governor Newsom vetoed SB 58, called for therapeutic framework instead.
Eureka City Council adopted a deprioritization resolution, the sixth California city to do so.
AB 1103 signed as Chapter 571, Statutes of 2025, letting the Research Advisory Panel expedite review of Schedule I and Schedule II research projects until January 1, 2028.
SB 1224 and AB 2489, both naming psilocybin, were held in the Assembly Appropriations suspense file.
California's status was confirmed and its bill list updated: SB 751 was dead by May 2025, and AB 2489 was alive but held in the Assembly Appropriations suspense file in May 2026.
California's record now lists SB 1224, the Emerging Therapies Research Partnership Act, which names psilocybin among the emerging therapies a state research fund would support in federally registered trials, with a veterans focus. The bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations suspense file on 13 Aug 2026.
California's 2025 research law is broader and shorter-lived than this entry said. AB 1103 speeds up state review of research using any Schedule I or Schedule II drug, psilocybin among them, rather than psychedelics specifically, and the fast-track expires on 1 January 2028.
4. Trials in California
Interventional psilocybin trials with at least one study site in California, 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 40 trials with a study site in California, as of Aug 2026. Closed covers trials terminated, suspended, withdrawn or left unverified.
| Registry ID | Trial | Phase | Sponsor | Status | Started |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCT07566104 (opens in new tab) | Group PACBT for Depression (opens in new tab)Site at UCLA Semel Institute, Los Angeles | Phase Phase 2 | Sponsor University of California, Los Angeles | Status Not yet recruiting | Started |
| NCT07756736 (opens in new tab) | Psilocybin Therapy for Methamphetamine Use Disorder and HIV (opens in new tab)Site at UCSF at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, San Francisco | Phase Phase 2 | Sponsor Nicky Mehtani, MD, MPH | Status Not yet recruiting | Started |
| NCT07479550 (opens in new tab) | Study of Psilocybin Under Anesthesia Controlled by EEG (opens in new tab)Site at Stanford University, Stanford | Phase Phase 2 | Sponsor Stanford University | Status Not yet recruiting | Started |
| NCT07386730 (opens in new tab) | A Study of Psychedelics in Healthy Older Adults With Low Well-being (opens in new tab)Recruiting at University of California San Francisco, Sandler Neuroscience Building, San Francisco | Phase Phase 1 | Sponsor Jennifer Mitchell | Status Recruiting | Started |
| NCT07516405 (opens in new tab) | Safety and Tolerability Trial of Psilocybin in Healthy Older Adults (opens in new tab)Recruiting at University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Department of Neurology, San Francisco | Phase Phase 1 | Sponsor University of Colorado, Denver | Status Recruiting | Started |
| NCT07281352 (opens in new tab) | RCT of Psilocybin-assisted CBT for Depression (opens in new tab)Recruiting at UCLA Semel Institute, Los Angeles | Phase Phase 1/2 | Sponsor University of California, Los Angeles | Status Recruiting | Started |
| NCT06793397 (opens in new tab) | A Study of a Deuterated Psilocin Analog (CYB003) in Humans With Major Depressive Disorder (opens in new tab)Recruiting in Glendale, Los Angeles, Orange | Phase Phase 3 | Sponsor Cybin IRL Limited | Status Recruiting | Started |
| NCT06367738 (opens in new tab) | Investigating the Persisting Effects of a Single Dose of Psilocybin on Structural Plasticity in Healthy Older Adults (opens in new tab)Recruiting at University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley | Phase Phase 1 | Sponsor University of California, Berkeley | Status Recruiting | Started |
| NCT06233344 (opens in new tab) | Mindfulness-Assisted Psychedelic Therapy (opens in new tab)Recruiting at Univeristy of Southern California Brain and Creativity Institute, Los Angeles | Phase Phase 2 | Sponsor University of Southern California | Status Recruiting | Started |
| NCT06605105 (opens in new tab) | Phase III Long-term Extension Trial to Assess Safety and Efficacy of CYB003 in MDD (EXTEND) (opens in new tab)Sites in San Francisco and San Juan Capistrano | Phase Phase 3 | Sponsor Cybin IRL Limited | Status Enrolling by invitation | Started |
| NCT06919640 (opens in new tab) | Psilocybin With Intracranial Neural Sensing (opens in new tab)Site at University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco | Phase Phase 1 | Sponsor Joshua Woolley, MD, PhD | Status Enrolling by invitation | Started |
| NCT05403086 (opens in new tab) | Pragmatic Trial of Psilocybin Therapy in Palliative Care (opens in new tab)Recruiting in Greenbrae, Los Angeles, San Francisco | Phase Phase 2 | Sponsor Charles S. Grob, M.D. | Status Recruiting | Started |
ClinicalTrials.gov data courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
28 more trials on file for California.
The table above lists the first 12, recruiting first. The register opens on all 40 and narrows further by condition, status, and stage.
See all 40 California trials in the register
Condition Treatment Resistant Depression (6) · Major Depressive Disorder (4) · Anorexia Nervosa (3) · Depression (3) · Parkinson Disease (2)
Phase Phase 1 (15) · Phase 2 (22) · Phase 3 (6) Status Recruiting (12) · Completed (12) · Active, not recruiting (10)
Registry records remain public on ClinicalTrials.gov and EU CTIS.
5. Common questions
Is psilocybin legal in California?
Psilocybin is decriminalized in California as of 16 Aug 2026. City level only; illegal under state law.
Are magic mushrooms ("shrooms") legal in California?
"Magic mushrooms" and "shrooms" are common names for fungi that contain psilocybin. Psilocybin is decriminalized in California as of 16 Aug 2026. City level only; illegal under state law. Some laws control the compound and the fungus separately, so this record states the position for psilocybin in California.
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.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov (opens in new tab) · leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
- 2.psychedelics.berkeley.edu (opens in new tab) · psychedelics.berkeley.edu
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.
California's 2025 research law is broader and shorter-lived than this entry said. AB 1103 speeds up state review of research using any Schedule I or Schedule II drug, psilocybin among them, rather than psychedelics specifically, and the fast-track expires on 1 January 2028.
California's record now lists SB 1224, the Emerging Therapies Research Partnership Act, which names psilocybin among the emerging therapies a state research fund would support in federally registered trials, with a veterans focus. The bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations suspense file on 13 Aug 2026.
California's status was confirmed and its bill list updated: SB 751 was dead by May 2025, and AB 2489 was alive but held in the Assembly Appropriations suspense file in May 2026.
California: psilocybin legal status. The Psilocybin Record. Accession US-CA-001. Status as of 16 Aug 2026. https://psilocybinlegalization.com/record/california
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