1. What the law is
Pakistan bans psilocybin by name, not by category: it is listed on the country's schedule of psychotropic substances. Producing, holding, buying, selling, moving or supplying it is an offence under the Control of Narcotic Substances Act. The Act allows medical, scientific and industrial use, but it does not set the terms for that itself; those are left to conditions specified by or under the Act or any other law in force. The schedule can also move without Parliament, since a 2022 amendment lets the Federal Government add or remove substances by notice in the official Gazette. No decriminalization or reform measure naming psilocybin is pending.
2. Trials in Pakistan
Interventional psilocybin trials with at least one site in Pakistan, 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 Closed counts trials terminated, suspended, withdrawn or left unverified by their sponsors.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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCT07703722 | Effect of Psilocybin and Structured Integrated Reframing Therapy on Gut-Brain Axis Biomarkers and Depression in Major Depressive Disorder (opens in new tab)Recruiting at Hayatabad Medical Complex Peshawar, Peshawar | Phase Phase 3 | Sponsor Khyber Medical University Peshawar | Status Recruiting | Start date |
| NCT06746441 | Effect of Psilocybin Only and Psilocybin Assisted Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in the Management of Major Depressive Disorder and Associated Metabolic, Immune, Inflammatory, Neuroplasticity and Electrical Activity Markers (opens in new tab)Site at Lady Reading Hospital, Pakistan, Peshawar | Phase Phase 2 | Sponsor Khyber Medical University Peshawar | 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.
Illegal status takes effect.
4. Proposed laws
No proposed law is on file in Pakistan that would change this entry, as of the 17 Aug 2026 review.
5. Common questions
Is psilocybin legal in Pakistan?
Psilocybin is illegal in Pakistan.
Are magic mushrooms ("shrooms") legal in Pakistan?
"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 Pakistan.
Read the law
Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997 (Act No. XXV of 1997), as amended by the Control of Narcotic Substances (Amendment) Act 2022 (XX of 2022). Section 6 sets the prohibition and its medical, scientific and industrial exception. Schedule-I, PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES, read with section 2(za), lists PSILOCYBINE at entry 69, with psilcine and psilotsin among the trivial names. Section 74A empowers the Federal Government to amend the Schedules by notification in the official Gazette.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.pakistancode.gov.pk (opens in new tab) · pakistancode.gov.pk
- 2.United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (opens in new tab) · unodc.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
2 changes on file, the latest on . Show allHide
Every change we have made to this record, dated, corrections included. Nothing changes silently.
Pakistan's entry quoted a Schedule-I heading that does not appear in the Act, and cut off its quotation of section 6 one clause early. Both are corrected against the Government of Pakistan's own consolidated text, which also carries a 2022 amendment the entry had never mentioned. Psilocybin's listing itself is confirmed.
Pakistan's listing was checked against the government's own text of the Control of Narcotic Substances Act. Schedule-I names psilocybine at entry 69, and section 6 permits only medical, scientific or industrial use.
Psilocybin Media Group. "Pakistan: psilocybin legal status." The Psilocybin Record, accession PK-001, version of 23 Aug 2026. https://psilocybinlegalization.com/record/pakistan