New York
Psilocybin is illegal in New York as of 16 Aug 2026.1
- Corrected and re-checked against 2 cited sources at this review.
1. What the law is
No psilocybin reform enacted. Lead bills 2025-2026 session: S495 (Fernandez) / A3775 (Burke): medical psilocybin-assisted therapy with $5M grant program and advisory board; A2142: regulated adult therapeutic use; A628: legalize/deschedule natural plant- and fungus-based hallucinogens.1
Four access bills are before the 2025-2026 session, and not one has had a committee vote. S495 and A3775 would set up psilocybin-assisted therapy; A628 would deschedule natural plant and fungus hallucinogens. Penal Law Article 220 governs in the meantime.
Psilocybin is illegal in New York. It appears on Schedule I of the state Public Health Law, and possession and sale are criminalized under Penal Law Article 220. Simple possession of any quantity is a class A misdemeanor; possession of larger amounts and any sale are felonies. The state has enacted no decriminalization measure and no medical or regulated access program. The legislature has, however, become a steady source of reform proposals. In the 2025-2026 session, the lead measure is S495 (Fernandez) and its Assembly companion A3775 (Burke), which would authorize medical psilocybin-assisted therapy under state oversight, fund a $5 million grant program, and establish an advisory board. Two other pending bills take different approaches: A2142 would create a framework for regulated adult therapeutic use, and A628 would remove natural plant- and fungus-based hallucinogens from the state's controlled substance schedules. None of these bills has advanced. S495 was referred to the Senate Finance Committee on January 8, 2025, re-referred on January 7, 2026, and has not received a committee vote; its companions likewise remain in Assembly committees.
New York fits the most common national pattern: full statutory prohibition alongside reform bills that are filed each session and stall in committee. Unlike Oregon and Colorado, where regulated access arrived by ballot initiative, New York has no statewide citizen initiative process, so any change must pass both chambers of the legislature and be signed by the governor. Three consecutive sessions of psilocybin bills have yet to produce a committee vote, which makes near-term enactment unlikely. One enacted measure is worth noting: a 2023 law requires New York to reschedule substances such as psilocybin automatically if their federal status changes.
2. Pending legislation
Introduced but not yet law. If a bill passes, this record changes with it.
S495 (Fernandez): referred to Senate Finance 8 Jan 2025, re-referred 7 Jan 2026, no committee vote. A3775 (Burke): referred to Assembly Health 30 Jan 2025, re-referred 7 Jan 2026. A628 (Rosenthal): referred to Assembly Health 8 Jan 2025, re-referred 7 Jan 2026. A2142 (Paulin): referred to Assembly Health 15 Jan 2025, re-referred 7 Jan 2026, amended and recommitted to Health 8 May 2026 as A2142A. None has had a committee vote (New York State Senate bill pages, each checked 16 Aug 2026).
3. History
The laws behind today’s status, when each took effect, and every review since, in order.
Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal introduces A6065, the first New York bill to remove psilocybin and psilocyn from the state's controlled substance schedules. The bill dies in committee.
Gov. Kathy Hochul signs legislation sponsored by Assemblymember Donna Lupardo and Sen. Gustavo Rivera requiring New York to reschedule or deschedule drugs such as psilocybin and MDMA automatically if they are reclassified under federal law.
Rosenthal introduces A114, a broader measure to legalize adult possession, use, and cultivation of natural plant- and fungus-based hallucinogens. The proposal is carried forward in later sessions as A628.
Assemblymember Patrick Burke introduces A3581, a medical psilocybin-assisted therapy bill with facilitator certification and a grant program. It is amended in December 2023 but never receives a committee vote.
Sen. Nathalia Fernandez introduces S495, referred to the Senate Finance Committee on January 8; Burke files companion A3775 on January 30. The bills would authorize medical psilocybin-assisted therapy with a $5 million grant program and an advisory board.
S495 is re-referred to Senate Finance on January 7 for the second year of the 2025-2026 session. S495, A3775, A2142, and A628 all remain in committee without a vote.
New York had been recorded as mixed because reform bills exist. None of them has had a committee vote, and a pending bill changes no law, so the status was corrected to illegal.
New York's entry was re-checked against the Senate's own bill pages on 16 August 2026. All four access bills are still in committee without a vote; one of them was amended in May 2026.
4. Trials in New York
Interventional psilocybin trials with at least one study site in New York, 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 26 trials with a study site in New York, as of Aug 2026. Closed covers trials terminated, suspended, withdrawn or left unverified.
| Registry ID | Trial | Phase | Sponsor | Status | Started |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCT06827054 (opens in new tab) | Psilocybin With Psychotherapy for Improving Chronic Pain in Cancer Patients Requiring Opioids (opens in new tab)Site at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo | Phase Phase 2 | Sponsor Roswell Park Cancer Institute | Status Not yet recruiting | Started |
| NCT06349083 (opens in new tab) | Neurobehavioral Mechanisms of Psilocybin-assisted Treatment for AUD (opens in new tab)Recruiting at NYU Langone Health, New York | Phase Phase 2 | Sponsor NYU Langone Health | Status Recruiting | Started |
| NCT07570654 (opens in new tab) | Redefine Study: A Study Evaluating the Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of COMP360 in Participants With Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (opens in new tab)Recruiting at NY, New York | Phase Phase 2/3 | Sponsor COMPASS Pathways | Status Recruiting | Started |
| NCT07607938 (opens in new tab) | Psilocybin as a Novel Therapy for Residual Anhedonia (opens in new tab)Site at NYU Langone Health, New York | Phase Phase 1 | Sponsor NYU Langone Health | Status Not yet recruiting | Started |
| NCT06899165 (opens in new tab) | Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy for Intergenerational Trauma (opens in new tab)Recruiting at The Parsons Research Center for Psychedelic Healing, New York | Phase Phase 2 | Sponsor Rachel Yehuda | Status Recruiting | Started |
| NCT07251491 (opens in new tab) | Psilocybin to Treat Depression in Spinal Cord Injury (opens in new tab)Recruiting at James J. Peters Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, The Bronx | Phase Phase 1/2 | Sponsor James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center | Status Recruiting | Started |
| NCT06760533 (opens in new tab) | Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy in Treating Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) (opens in new tab)Site at NYU Langone Health, New York | Phase Phase Early 1 | Sponsor NYU Langone Health | Status Not yet recruiting | Started |
| NCT07516405 (opens in new tab) | Safety and Tolerability Trial of Psilocybin in Healthy Older Adults (opens in new tab)Site at New York University Langone Health, Center for Psychedelic Medicine, New York | Phase Phase 1 | Sponsor University of Colorado, Denver | Status Recruiting | Started |
| NCT07296328 (opens in new tab) | Effects of Psilocybin on Speech Fluency, Struggle, and Brain Activity in People Who Stutter (opens in new tab)Site at NYU Langone Health, New York | Phase Phase 2 | Sponsor NYU Langone Health | Status Not yet recruiting | Started |
| NCT06796062 (opens in new tab) | Psilocybin for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) (opens in new tab)Recruiting in Brooklyn, New York, The Bronx | Phase Phase 2 | Sponsor NYU Langone Health | 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)Site at New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York | Phase Phase 3 | Sponsor Cybin IRL Limited | 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 New York and The Bronx | Phase Phase 3 | Sponsor Cybin IRL Limited | Status Enrolling by invitation | Started |
ClinicalTrials.gov data courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
14 more trials on file for New York.
The table above lists the first 12, recruiting first. The register opens on all 26 and narrows further by condition, status, and stage.
See all 26 New York trials in the register
Condition Major Depressive Disorder (3) · Treatment Resistant Depression (3) · Depression - Major Depressive Disorder (2) · Depressive Disorder, Major (2) · Advanced Cancer (1)
Phase Phase 1 (6) · Phase 2 (15) · Phase 3 (8) Status Recruiting (10) · Completed (8) · Not yet recruiting (4)
Registry records remain public on ClinicalTrials.gov and EU CTIS.
5. Common questions
Is psilocybin legal in New York?
Psilocybin is illegal in New York as of 16 Aug 2026.
Are magic mushrooms ("shrooms") legal in New York?
"Magic mushrooms" and "shrooms" are common names for fungi that contain psilocybin. Psilocybin is illegal in New York as of 16 Aug 2026. Some laws control the compound and the fungus separately, so this record states the position for psilocybin in New York.
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.nysenate.gov (opens in new tab) · nysenate.gov
- 2.nysenate.gov (opens in new tab) · nysenate.gov
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.
New York's entry was re-checked against the Senate's own bill pages on 16 August 2026. All four access bills are still in committee without a vote; one of them was amended in May 2026.
New York had been recorded as mixed because reform bills exist. None of them has had a committee vote, and a pending bill changes no law, so the status was corrected to illegal.
New York: psilocybin legal status. The Psilocybin Record. Accession US-NY-001. Status as of 16 Aug 2026. https://psilocybinlegalization.com/record/new-york
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