1. What the law is
One date carries the whole federal position: 1 May 1971, when the Controlled Substances Act took effect. It placed psilocybin and psilocyn, spelled psilocin outside the statute, in Schedule I. That is the most restrictive category the statute has, reserved for substances it treats as having a high potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical use. Making, holding or distributing psilocybin is a federal crime in every state, district and territory, and there is no FDA-approved psilocybin product. Six federal actions were recorded in 2026: one executive order, three Food and Drug Administration actions, one Drug Enforcement Administration order, and one request for information from the Health Resources and Services Administration. None of them changed the legal status of psilocybin, and the early access route the executive order called for has not been set up.
2. History
The legal events behind this entry, dated and oldest first. Our own reviews and corrections are listed under Changes to this record.
Illegal status takes effect.
3. Proposed laws
Proposals that are not yet law and would change this entry if adopted.
H.R. 9559 (IBOGAINE Act), introduced 30 Jun 2026 and referred to the Subcommittee on Health on 17 Jul 2026. It does not name psilocybin, but would require rescheduling proceedings for any Schedule I drug that completes Phase 3 trials for a serious mental health disorder, and would streamline DEA quota revisions following FDA approval or breakthrough therapy designation. S. 4031, the Innovative Therapies Centers of Excellence Act, was introduced on 9 Mar 2026 by Senator Gallego with Senator McCormick and referred to the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. It would require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to designate at least five Department medical facilities as innovative therapies centers of excellence, operating subject to appropriations, and its definition of an innovative therapy lists psilocybin with MDMA, 5-MeO-DMT, ibogaine and ketamine. Its House companion, H.R. 2623, was introduced on 3 Apr 2025 and referred to the Subcommittee on Health on 8 May 2025. Neither has moved past committee referral.
Read the law
Controlled Substances Act, Pub. L. 91-513, Title II (1970); 21 U.S.C. 812, Schedule I(c)(15) (psilocybin) and I(c)(16) (psilocyn); implemented at 21 C.F.R. 1308.11(d)(29) and (d)(30)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.govinfo.gov (opens in new tab) · govinfo.gov
- 2.federalregister.gov (opens in new tab) · federalregister.gov
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
11 changes on file, the latest on . Show allHide
Every change we have made to this record, dated, corrections included. Nothing changes silently.
Correction. An update published here on 14 September 2026 said written comments to the FDA about its public hearing on psychedelic medicines could be sent until 6 October 2026. The deadline was 11:59 p.m. Eastern on 5 October 2026, as the hearing notice and the FDA's meeting page both say; the date we published came from a database field kept in universal time, which runs four hours ahead of Eastern time. The same update said the hearing took place on 14 September without citing a source. The FDA's own recording of its live webcast shows that it did. Nothing about federal law has changed.
A pending Senate bill that names psilocybin has been added to this entry. S. 4031 would have the Department of Veterans Affairs designate at least five centers of excellence for therapies that include psilocybin. It was introduced in March 2026, has not moved out of committee, and does not change psilocybin's legal status.
The FDA held its public hearing on psychedelic medicines on 14 September 2026. A week later the agency had published nothing from it: the docket still contains only the notice that called the hearing. You can still write to the FDA about it until 6 October 2026; a later deadline than the one for asking to speak, which closed in August; and 110 people and organisations had done so by 15 September. Nothing about federal law has changed.
The federal record's notes were corrected. The April executive order's rescheduling review attaches only once a drug completes Phase 3 trials for a serious mental health disorder, and it sets no deadline; the earlier wording read as an overdue action. DEA rescheduling actions published since the order concern marijuana products and three insomnia drugs and do not mention it. Document counts were updated as of 1 September 2026. The legal status is unchanged.
The Health Resources and Services Administration asked the public how psychedelic treatments should be staffed and delivered in outpatient clinics if any are ever approved, with comments closing 13 Aug 2026 (91 FR 43103).
The FDA set a public hearing on the possible future medical use of psychedelic drugs for 14 Sep 2026 and began taking written comments. Anyone wanting to attend or ask to speak must register by 21 Aug 2026 (91 FR 43095).
The FDA issued final guidance on how psychedelic drugs should be studied in clinical trials, replacing the draft it published in 2023. Guidance sets out what the agency expects; it does not carry the force of law (91 FR 43101).
The FDA issued three national priority vouchers to psychedelic drug programs, two of them for psilocybin. A voucher speeds up FDA review; it does not approve a drug or change its legal schedule (24 Apr 2026).
The President signed Executive Order 14401, directing the FDA and the Drug Enforcement Administration to speed up psychedelic drug review, build an early access route for seriously ill patients, and consider rescheduling once a drug finishes Phase 3 trials. As of this review the access route has not been set up (91 FR 21709).
The DEA set the quantities of psilocybin and psilocyn that registered researchers and manufacturers may legally produce in the United States during 2026 (91 FR 287).
Psilocybin and psilocyn became Schedule I controlled substances when the Controlled Substances Act took effect on 1 May 1971 (21 U.S.C. 812).
Psilocybin Media Group. "United States (federal): psilocybin legal status." The Psilocybin Record, accession US-001, version of 06 Oct 2026. https://psilocybinlegalization.com/record/federal