Massachusetts
Psilocybin is decriminalized in Massachusetts as of 02 Aug 2026. City level only; illegal under state law.1
- Checked against 2 cited sources at this review.
1. What the law is
City-level lowest-enforcement-priority resolutions: Somerville (Jan 14, 2021), Cambridge (Feb 3, 2021), Northampton (Apr 1, 2021), Easthampton (Oct 20, 2021), Amherst (Jul 18, 2022), Salem (Jun 8, 2023), Provincetown (Dec 11, 2023), Medford (Feb 6, 2024). Statewide Question 4 (Nov 2024) failed. No statewide reform enacted.1
Massachusetts has no statewide psilocybin law; it has eight municipal ones, adopted between Somerville in January 2021 and Medford in February 2024. Each is a resolution making psilocybin enforcement the lowest local law enforcement priority. Voters rejected the statewide version, Question 4, in November 2024.
Psilocybin remains illegal under Massachusetts state law and federal law, but five municipalities have adopted resolutions directing local police to treat enforcement against adult use of entheogenic plants and fungi as among their lowest priorities. Somerville adopted its resolution in January 2021, followed by Cambridge in February 2021, Northampton in April 2021, Easthampton in October 2021, and Salem in May 2023. These measures are non-binding statements of local policy: they do not legalize psilocybin, and possession remains a prosecutable offense everywhere in the state. A statewide ballot measure, Question 4, would have legalized supervised use of natural psychedelics at licensed facilities and allowed limited home cultivation; voters rejected it in November 2024 by a margin of roughly 57 percent to 43 percent. Reform efforts have since shifted to the legislature. H.4986, a consolidated bill in the 194th General Court, would create a five-site pilot program of licensed nonprofit therapeutic psilocybin treatment centers overseen by the Department of Public Health, with criminal protections for participants and staff. The bill was reported favorably by the Joint Committee on Public Health and is now before the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing.
Massachusetts is the clearest example of a state where the ballot route for psychedelic reform failed while the legislative route stayed open. After voters rejected Question 4 in 2024, lawmakers consolidated two House proposals into H.4986, which would authorize a Department of Public Health pilot of five licensed nonprofit therapeutic psilocybin treatment centers, with reporting requirements and criminal protections for participants and providers. A separate psychedelic therapy pilot bill, S.1400/H.4200, advanced out of committee in September 2025. With H.4986 pending in Health Care Financing as of mid-2026, Massachusetts has a plausible near-term path to a supervised therapeutic program, though no bill has yet reached a floor vote.
2. Pending legislation
Introduced but not yet law. If a bill passes, this record changes with it.
H.5576 (economic development, 194th General Court) carried SECTION 109D, a Department of Public Health supervised psilocybin and psilocin pilot at up to three licensed mental health clinics. The House engrossed it Jul 8, 2026 by 148 to 2; the Senate replaced the bill text with S.3228 on Jul 24, 2026, removing the pilot; the House non-concurred Jul 30, 2026 and both branches appointed a conference committee the same day. Joint Rule 12A allows both branches to take up that conference report after Jul 31. Standalone vehicles: H.2203 (regulated psilocybin pilot) and H.4200 (psychedelics in licensed treatment facilities) were each recommended ought to pass and referred to House Ways and Means on Jul 22 and Jul 23, 2026; S.1400, the Senate companion to H.4200, has been in Senate Ways and Means since Oct 2, 2025; H.4986 (therapeutic psilocybin treatment centers, the Jan 28, 2026 new draft of H.2506 and H.2532) remains in Health Care Financing with its reporting date extended to Dec 31, 2026.
3. History
The laws behind today’s status, when each took effect, and every review since, in order.
Somerville City Council adopts the state's first lowest-enforcement-priority resolution covering entheogenic plants and fungi (Jan 14).
Decriminalized status takes effect.
Cambridge City Council passes a similar deprioritization resolution (Feb 3).
Northampton becomes the third Massachusetts city to adopt a lowest-enforcement-priority resolution (Mar 18).
Easthampton City Council votes 7-0 for a deprioritization resolution, the fourth city statewide (Oct 20).
Salem City Council votes 9-0 to make psilocybin enforcement among the city's lowest law enforcement priorities.
Voters reject Question 4, a statewide initiative to legalize and regulate natural psychedelic substances, by roughly 57 percent to 43 percent.
Psychedelic therapy pilot bills S.1400/H.4200 advance out of the Joint Committee on Public Health.
H.4986, a new draft consolidating H.2506 and H.2532 into a therapeutic psilocybin treatment center pilot, is reported favorably and referred to the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing (Jan 28).
Massachusetts stays recorded as decriminalized. The list of pending bills was updated: H.4986 now consolidates two earlier bills, H.2506 and H.2532, and sits in the Health Care Financing committee unenacted.
The Massachusetts House voted 148 to 2 for a bill carrying a supervised psilocybin pilot. The Senate removed the pilot and the bill is now in conference.
Eight Massachusetts cities and towns have adopted resolutions making enforcement of psilocybin laws a low local priority, three more than this record named. Salem's is dated June 8, 2023, when the City Council adopted a revised resolution after the Acting Mayor vetoed the original.
Northampton's date moves from March 18 to April 1, 2021. The city council gave the resolution a first reading in March and adopted it on the second reading two weeks later. Somerville's January 14, 2021 date and Cambridge's February 3, 2021 date were checked against city records and are unchanged. All eight Massachusetts municipal dates now come from municipal records.
4. Trials in Massachusetts
Interventional psilocybin trials with at least one study site in Massachusetts, 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 12 trials with a study site in Massachusetts, as of Aug 2026. Closed covers trials terminated, suspended, withdrawn or left unverified.
ClinicalTrials.gov data courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
5. Common questions
Is psilocybin legal in Massachusetts?
Psilocybin is decriminalized in Massachusetts as of 02 Aug 2026. City level only; illegal under state law.
Are magic mushrooms ("shrooms") legal in Massachusetts?
"Magic mushrooms" and "shrooms" are common names for fungi that contain psilocybin. Psilocybin is decriminalized in Massachusetts as of 02 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 Massachusetts.
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.Massachusetts General Court.Massachusetts General Court (opens in new tab) · malegislature.gov
- 2.Marijuana Moment.Marijuana Moment (opens in new tab) · marijuanamoment.net
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.
Northampton's date moves from March 18 to April 1, 2021. The city council gave the resolution a first reading in March and adopted it on the second reading two weeks later. Somerville's January 14, 2021 date and Cambridge's February 3, 2021 date were checked against city records and are unchanged. All eight Massachusetts municipal dates now come from municipal records.
Eight Massachusetts cities and towns have adopted resolutions making enforcement of psilocybin laws a low local priority, three more than this record named. Salem's is dated June 8, 2023, when the City Council adopted a revised resolution after the Acting Mayor vetoed the original.
The Massachusetts House voted 148 to 2 for a bill carrying a supervised psilocybin pilot. The Senate removed the pilot and the bill is now in conference.
Massachusetts stays recorded as decriminalized. The list of pending bills was updated: H.4986 now consolidates two earlier bills, H.2506 and H.2532, and sits in the Health Care Financing committee unenacted.
Massachusetts: psilocybin legal status. The Psilocybin Record. Accession US-MA-001. Status as of 02 Aug 2026. https://psilocybinlegalization.com/record/massachusetts
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