1. What the law is
The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 controls psilocin and any fungus of any kind that contains it. Spores hold none, so they are lawful to own and unlawful to germinate. Class A, Schedule 1. In July 2025 the government agreed in principle to a pilot exempting some Schedule 1 research from Home Office licensing, and no amending regulations have followed.
Sub-national records
2. Trials in the United Kingdom
Interventional psilocybin trials with at least one site in the United Kingdom, 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 Closed counts trials terminated, suspended, withdrawn or left unverified by their sponsors.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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ISRCTN10648713 | Sleep Blinding Psilocybin, a feasibility study: Examining if participants can tell if they received psilocybin or a placebo when medication is given to act in sleep (opens in new tab) | Phase Not stated | Sponsor King's College London | Status Recruiting | Start date |
| ISRCTN14487299 | A clinical trial of 5 mg psilocybin plus psychological support vs 25 mg psilocybin plus psychological support in adults with generalised anxiety disorder (opens in new tab) | Phase Not stated | Sponsor Incannex Healthcare Limited | Status Recruiting | Start date |
| NCT06793397 | A Study of a Deuterated Psilocin Analog (CYB003) in Humans With Major Depressive Disorder (opens in new tab)Recruiting in Cambridge, Doncaster, London | Phase Phase 3 | Sponsor Cybin IRL Limited | Status Recruiting | Start date |
| ISRCTN10232579 | A trial to investigate if psilocybin therapy is effective in improving outcomes for people with opioid use disorder (opens in new tab) | Phase Not stated | Sponsor Imperial College London | Status Recruiting | Start date |
| NCT06798636 | PsiloIMAGINE: A Psychedelic-augmented Mental Imagery-based Intervention for Young People With Self-harm (opens in new tab)Recruiting at Imperial College London, London | Phase Phase Early 1 | Sponsor Imperial College London | Status Recruiting | Start date |
| NCT06815653 | Digital Intervention for Psychedelic Preparation (DIPP): Comparing Meditation and Music-Based Programs (opens in new tab)Recruiting at University College London, London | Phase Phase 1 | Sponsor University College, London | 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)Site at Ascend Clinical Research, Reading | Phase Phase 3 | Sponsor Cybin IRL Limited | Status Enrolling by invitation | Start date |
| NCT07050368 | A Study Assessing Brain Activity, Safety, Tolerability, and Pharmacokinetics Following Multiple Doses of MLS101 (Psilocybin) in Healthy Volunteers (opens in new tab)Site at Hammersmith Medicines Research (HMR), London | Phase Phase 1 | Sponsor MycoMedica Life Sciences PBC | Status Completed | Start date |
| ISRCTN37167117 | A study in healthy male volunteers to investigate how the test medicine COMP360 [14C]-psilocybin is taken up, broken down and removed from the body (opens in new tab) | Phase Not stated | Sponsor Compass Pathfinder Limited | Status No longer recruiting | Start date |
| NCT05723276 | Psilocybin in Functional Neurological Disorder (opens in new tab)Site at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London | Phase Not applicable | Sponsor King's College London | Status Completed | Start date |
| NCT05876481 | Evaluation of Psilocybin-assisted Psychotherapy (PaP) for the Treatment of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Military Veterans (opens in new tab)Site at Combat Stress, Leatherhead | Phase Phase 2 | Sponsor Combat Stress | Status Unknown status | Start date |
| NCT05711940 | Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of Two Administrations of COMP360 in Participants With TRD (opens in new tab)Sites in Bodmin, Chertsey, Chester | Phase Phase 3 | Sponsor COMPASS Pathways | Status Active, not recruiting | Start date |
ClinicalTrials.gov data courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
16 more trials on file for United Kingdom.
The register lists all 28 and filters them by condition, status and phase.
3. 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 the United Kingdom yet. If one passes, it appears here, dated.
4. Proposed laws
July 2025 government response to ACMD barriers-to-research advice: agreed in principle, subject to operational feasibility, to exempt Schedule 1 research at universities and hospitals, and clinical trials with HRA/MHRA approval, from the Home Office domestic licence, starting with a pilot scheme. No amending regulations have been made. The Minister of State's commissioning letter of 2 June 2025 asks the ACMD to draw lessons from the rescheduling of cannabis-based products for medicinal use that would help government assess representations for the potential use of psilocybin and other controlled drugs to treat depression. That advice has not been delivered: neither the ACMD Chair's work-programme letter of 11 March 2026 nor its autumn update of 21 September 2026 carries a psilocybin item, and the September letter says the cannabis-based-medicines working group is concluding its report, expected by the end of 2026. No rescheduling has been enacted, on the legislation.gov.uk change registers for both instruments as checked on 28 September 2026.
5. Common questions
Is psilocybin legal in the United Kingdom?
Psilocybin is illegal in the United Kingdom.
Are magic mushrooms ("shrooms") legal in the United Kingdom?
"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 the United Kingdom.
Read the law
Misuse of Drugs Act 1971: psilocin and 'fungus (of any kind) which contains psilocin or an ester of psilocin' are Class A; Schedule 1 under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001. Drugs Act 2005 banned fresh mushrooms.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.UK Government.UK Government (opens in new tab) · gov.uk
- 2.UK Government.UK Government (opens in new tab) · gov.uk
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.
The United Kingdom entry no longer says research licensing was eased in 2025. Ministers agreed to a pilot in principle and have not yet changed the rules. Psilocybin mushrooms remain Class A.
The United Kingdom entry was checked again against the Act, the regulations and the ACMD's own 2026 work programme. Psilocybin remains Class A and Schedule 1, and the review the government commissioned in 2025 has not reported.
The United Kingdom's status held at Class A and Schedule 1. The entry now cites GOV.UK directly, and records two things in motion: the July 2025 trial of lighter research licensing, and the psilocybin review the government asked its drugs advisory council to carry out.
Psilocybin Media Group. "United Kingdom: psilocybin legal status." The Psilocybin Record, accession GB-001, version of 28 Sep 2026. https://psilocybinlegalization.com/record/united-kingdom