1. What the law is
New Jersey's pilot puts psilocybin therapy inside hospitals. SB 2283 created a two-year Psilocybin Behavioral Health Access and Services Pilot Program at three hospitals, funded at $6 million, and was signed in January 2026. Outside the pilot, nothing about possession changed. One gap we will not paper over: the New Jersey Legislature's websites refuse connections from our systems, so the enacted text and the exact signing date rest on trade press and law-firm reporting rather than on a state source. A manual check is queued.
New Jersey enacted the Psilocybin Behavioral Health Access and Services Act (S2283 / A3852) on January 20, 2026, creating a two-year, hospital-based pilot program rather than any form of general access. The law directs the selection of three hospitals, one in each region of the state, to provide psilocybin-assisted therapy to adults 21 and older with certified qualifying conditions. The program carries $6 million in funding, allocated at $2 million per hospital, operates within FDA and DEA research compliance requirements, and is overseen by an 11-member advisory board; participating hospitals must collect outcome data and report findings to the Governor and Legislature. Earlier versions of the bill proposed licensed service centers, decriminalization, and expungement of past offenses, but all of those provisions were removed before passage. Outside the pilot, psilocybin remains a Schedule I controlled dangerous substance under New Jersey law, and production, distribution, and possession remain criminal offenses. The state did, however, reduce possession penalties in 2021: A5084, signed in February of that year, reclassified possession of up to one ounce of psilocybin from a third-degree crime to a disorderly persons offense, punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
New Jersey enacted a state-funded psilocybin therapy program and chose the most restrictive model available: a closed, hospital-run pilot rather than the regulated access systems operating in Oregon and Colorado. The 2021 possession downgrade served as quiet groundwork, lowering enforcement stakes years before any therapeutic framework existed. The pilot is built to be self-evaluating. Hospitals must submit clinical outcome data to the Governor and Legislature, and the advisory board is charged with recommending whether a broader statewide care system should follow. Those reports, due as the two-year program concludes, will determine what comes next.
2. Trials in New Jersey
Interventional psilocybin trials with at least one site in New Jersey, as their sponsors filed them with ClinicalTrials.gov, EU CTIS and ISRCTN. Each row links to the registry record, which sets out who may take part.
Recruiting or opening counts trials recruiting now, not yet recruiting, or enrolling by invitation. Closed counts trials terminated, suspended, withdrawn or left unverified by their sponsors.
| Registry ID | Trial | Phase | Sponsor | Status | Start date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCT06793397 | A Study of a Deuterated Psilocin Analog (CYB003) in Humans With Major Depressive Disorder (opens in new tab)Recruiting at Bio Behavioral Health, Toms River | Phase Phase 3 | Sponsor Cybin IRL Limited | Status Recruiting | Start date |
| NCT06605105 | Phase III Long-term Extension Trial to Assess Safety and Efficacy of CYB003 in MDD (EXTEND) (opens in new tab)Sites in Princeton and Toms River | Phase Phase 3 | Sponsor Cybin IRL Limited | Status Enrolling by invitation | Start date |
| NCT06564818 | A Study of a Deuterated Psilocin Analog (CYB003) in Humans With Major Depressive Disorder (opens in new tab)Site at Global Medical Institutes, Princeton Medical Institute, Princeton | Phase Phase 3 | Sponsor Cybin IRL Limited | Status Active, not recruiting | Start date |
| NCT06308653 | Psilocybin for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) (opens in new tab)Site at Global Medical Institutes, LLC; Princeton Medical Institute, Princeton | Phase Phase 3 | Sponsor Usona Institute | Status Active, not recruiting | Start date |
| NCT05711940 | Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of Two Administrations of COMP360 in Participants With TRD (opens in new tab)Sites in Berlin, Princeton, Toms River | Phase Phase 3 | Sponsor COMPASS Pathways | Status Active, not recruiting | Start date |
| NCT05624268 | Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of COMP360 in Participants With TRD (opens in new tab)Site at Bio Behavioral Health, Toms River | Phase Phase 3 | Sponsor COMPASS Pathways | Status Completed | Start date |
| NCT05385783 | A Study of a Psilocybin Analog (CYB003) in Healthy Participants With and Without Major Depressive Disorder (opens in new tab)Site at Clinilabs Drug Development Corporation, Eatontown | Phase Phase 1/2 | Sponsor Cybin IRL Limited | Status Completed | Start date |
| NCT03866174 | A Study of Psilocybin for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) (opens in new tab)Site at Hassman Research Institute, Berlin | Phase Phase 2 | Sponsor Usona Institute | Status Completed | Start date |
ClinicalTrials.gov data courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
3. History
The legal events behind this entry, dated and oldest first. Our own reviews and corrections are listed under Changes to this record.
Gov. Phil Murphy signs A5084 / S3256, reclassifying possession of up to one ounce of psilocybin from a third-degree crime to a disorderly persons offense carrying up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Senate President Nicholas Scutari introduces S2934, the original Psilocybin Behavioral Health Access and Services Act, proposing licensed service centers, decriminalization, and expungement; the bill dies in committee.
Scutari reintroduces the framework as S2283 in the 2024-2025 session, initially in substantially the same broad form as the prior bill.
A Senate committee substitute narrows S2283, removing legalization, decriminalization, and expungement provisions in favor of a hospital-based therapeutic pilot.
The Legislature gives final passage to the amended S2283 / A3852 in the closing days of the 2024-2025 session.
Gov. Murphy signs S2283 on January 20, 2026 (P.L.2025, c.296), establishing a two-year, $6 million psilocybin-assisted therapy pilot at three hospitals with an 11-member advisory board.
Mixed status takes effect.
4. Proposed laws
No proposed law is on file in New Jersey that would change this entry, as of the 16 Aug 2026 review.
5. Common questions
Is psilocybin legal in New Jersey?
Psilocybin has mixed legal status in New Jersey.
Are magic mushrooms ("shrooms") legal in New Jersey?
"Magic mushrooms" and "shrooms" are common names for fungi that contain psilocybin, and this entry states the law on psilocybin itself, which some laws treat separately from the fungus. Psilocybin has mixed legal status in New Jersey.
Read the law
S2283 / A3852 (Psilocybin Behavioral Health Access and Services Act), signed by Gov. Murphy Jan 20, 2026. Establishes 2-year hospital-based psilocybin-assisted therapy pilot at 3 hospitals (one per state region), $6M ($2M each), 11-member advisory board. Adults 21+ with certified qualifying conditions; FDA/DEA-compliant research framework.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.pub.njleg.state.nj.us (opens in new tab) · pub.njleg.state.nj.us
- 2.Marijuana Moment.Marijuana Moment (opens in new tab) · marijuanamoment.net
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
2 changes on file, the latest on . Show allHide
Every change we have made to this record, dated, corrections included. Nothing changes silently.
New Jersey's entry was checked again on 16 August 2026 and nothing changed. The legislature's website could not be reached, so the pilot programme's paperwork is queued for a manual check.
New Jersey's hospital pilot was confirmed, and the signing date was corrected from 16 January to 20 January 2026.
Psilocybin Media Group. "New Jersey: psilocybin legal status." The Psilocybin Record, accession US-NJ-001, version of 23 Aug 2026. https://psilocybinlegalization.com/record/new-jersey