Netherlands
Psilocybin is legal in the Netherlands as of 17 Aug 2026. Truffles only; mushrooms prohibited since 2008.1
- Checked against 2 cited sources at this review.
1. What the law is
Opium Act (Opiumwet): psilocin and psilocybin on List I; hallucinogenic mushrooms added to List II by decree Staatsblad 2008, 486, effective December 1, 2008. Sclerotia (truffles) are not listed and remain lawful products.1
Same organism, two legal fates. The mushroom was banned in December 2008 by an Opium Act amendment that reaches the fruiting body; the sclerotium, sold as a truffle, was never written into the Act at all. Truffles are therefore lawful by omission rather than by exemption, and Dutch smart shops sell them openly under ordinary retail and food-safety rules, not under a drug license.
2. Pending legislation
No bill is on file in the Netherlands 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.
Legal status takes effect.
The Netherlands entry now points at the Dutch legal texts themselves, after the government link it had been citing stopped working. Truffles are unaffected, and a viral claim about a January 2026 mushroom fine was checked and found to be false.
The Netherlands entry was checked again against a newer version of the Opium Act. Mushrooms are still banned and truffles still are not in the Act at all, which is why they remain lawful. Two amendments this year touched other articles.
The Netherlands entry no longer says truffles are sold in licensed smart shops or that they were explicitly excluded from the 2008 ban. The Opium Act contains no smart-shop licence and never mentions truffles at all, so they fall outside it rather than being carved out of it.
4. Trials in the Netherlands
Interventional psilocybin trials with at least one study site in the Netherlands, 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 8 trials with a study site in the Netherlands, 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 Closed covers trials terminated, suspended, withdrawn or left unverified.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 the Netherlands?
Psilocybin is legal in the Netherlands as of 17 Aug 2026. Truffles only; mushrooms prohibited since 2008.
Are magic mushrooms ("shrooms") legal in the Netherlands?
"Magic mushrooms" and "shrooms" are common names for fungi that contain psilocybin. Psilocybin is legal in the Netherlands as of 17 Aug 2026. Truffles only; mushrooms prohibited since 2008. Some laws control the compound and the fungus separately, so this record states the position for psilocybin in the Netherlands.
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.Government of the Netherlands.Government of the Netherlands (opens in new tab) · wetten.overheid.nl
- 2.zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl (opens in new tab) · zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl
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.
The Netherlands entry no longer says truffles are sold in licensed smart shops or that they were explicitly excluded from the 2008 ban. The Opium Act contains no smart-shop licence and never mentions truffles at all, so they fall outside it rather than being carved out of it.
The Netherlands entry was checked again against a newer version of the Opium Act. Mushrooms are still banned and truffles still are not in the Act at all, which is why they remain lawful. Two amendments this year touched other articles.
The Netherlands entry now points at the Dutch legal texts themselves, after the government link it had been citing stopped working. Truffles are unaffected, and a viral claim about a January 2026 mushroom fine was checked and found to be false.
Netherlands: psilocybin legal status. The Psilocybin Record. Accession NL-001. Status as of 17 Aug 2026. https://psilocybinlegalization.com/record/netherlands
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