1. What the law is
Norway came close to decriminalizing drug use and then did not. The Storting rejected the rusreformen bill on 3 June 2021, and use and possession of narcotics, psilocybin included, stayed criminal. A second reform passed in June 2025 keeps the prohibition and softens what sits around it, but none of it has started: the Act of 20 June 2025 no. 83 leaves commencement to the King, no commencement decision had been made as of 18 Aug 2026, and Lovdata still carries the Act marked not in force. When it starts, a minor drug offense can be met with a simplified fixed penalty notice instead of an ordinary charge, and the police will be able to refer a person to a municipal advisory unit for drug cases, with guardians heard first where that person is under 18.
2. History
The legal events behind this entry, dated and oldest first. Our own reviews and corrections are listed under Changes to this record.
No reform legislation on file for Norway yet. If one passes, it appears here, dated.
3. Proposed laws
Proposals that are not yet law and would change this entry if adopted.
Enacted but not yet in force. The Act of 20 June 2025 no. 83, amending the Penal Code and the Medicines Act on dealings with smaller quantities of narcotics for personal use, was passed by the Storting on 10 and 13 June 2025 and promulgated on 20 Jun 2025. Section VII leaves commencement to the King and allows individual provisions to start at different times. No commencement decision had been made as of 18 Aug 2026: Lovdata's updated text of the Act is marked not in force, and every provision it touches in the six Acts it amends still carries the note that it will be amended or added by the Act of 20 June 2025 no. 83 with effect from the time the King decides, with no royal decree cited. It rewrites section 24 of the Medicines Act to cover acquiring, storing or using narcotics, sets a fine or up to 6 months for acquiring or storing a small quantity for personal use, allows particularly dangerous substances to be routed to the Penal Code instead, and adds a new section 31a authorizing simplified fixed penalty notices. Decriminalization is expressly excluded.
4. Common questions
Is psilocybin legal in Norway?
Psilocybin is illegal in Norway.
Are magic mushrooms ("shrooms") legal in Norway?
"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 is illegal in Norway.
Read the law
Use and possession of narcotics, including psilocybin, remain criminal offenses. Legemiddelloven (Act of 4 December 1992 no. 132) section 24, first paragraph, forbids possessing or using narcotics without lawful access, and section 31, second paragraph, sets a fine or imprisonment of up to 6 months. The narcotics regulation (FOR-14 Feb 2013-199) lists psilocybin, psilocin, Psilocybe cubensis and Psilocybe semilanceata, together with a catch-all for mushrooms containing psilocybin or psilocin, each extending to spores and to cultivated, dried or otherwise processed mushrooms. Parliament rejected the government's decriminalization bill (rusreformen) on 3 June 2021.1
Sources
This entry's status is checked against the primary sources below, and the methodology explains how each entry is graded for confidence.
- 1.lovdata.no (opens in new tab) · lovdata.no
- 2.nordicalcohol.org (opens in new tab) · nordicalcohol.org
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
3 changes on file, the latest on . Show allHide
Every change we have made to this record, dated, corrections included. Nothing changes silently.
Norway's entry said the 2025 drug reform was in effect. It is not: the Act has passed and been promulgated, but commencement is left to the King and has not been set, so nothing in it has started.
Norway's entry described the 2025 drug reform as an agreement between parties. It had already passed the Storting and been promulgated in June 2025, and it is waiting on the King to bring it into force. It keeps the ban in place.
Norway's entry described a reform as pending. Parliament voted the decriminalization bill down in June 2021 and the 2025 reform keeps the ban in place, so the status was corrected to illegal.
Psilocybin Media Group. "Norway: psilocybin legal status." The Psilocybin Record, accession NO-001, version of 23 Aug 2026. https://psilocybinlegalization.com/record/norway