1. What the law is
Initiative 81 passed with 76% of the vote in November 2020, and it did not legalize anything. It directs the Metropolitan Police to treat adult non-commercial use of entheogenic plants and fungi, psilocybin among them, as their lowest enforcement priority. The measure cleared Congressional review and took effect in March 2021. Under federal law psilocybin is still illegal.
What the District decriminalized is police attention, not the substance. Initiative 81, the Entheogenic Plant and Fungus Policy Act of 2020, is codified at D.C. Law 23-268 and directs the Metropolitan Police Department to treat the investigation and arrest of adults 18 and older for non-commercial activity involving entheogenic plants and fungi, psilocybin among them, as among its lowest enforcement priorities. The schedules themselves are untouched. Commercial sale is still prohibited, and psilocybin is still a Schedule I substance under federal law, which applies in the District.
Initiative 81 was approved by District voters in November 2020 with roughly 76% support and took effect on March 16, 2021, following the mandatory Congressional review period for D.C. ballot measures. The measure, codified at D.C. Code Title 48, Chapter 9C, does not amend the District's controlled-substances schedules; psilocybin and psilocyn remain controlled, and the initiative is limited to directing the Metropolitan Police Department to make non-commercial entheogen offenses its lowest law-enforcement priority and to calling on local and federal prosecutors to cease prosecution of such non-commercial conduct. It creates no licensed access, no retail market, and no affirmative legal right to possess or use psilocybin; non-commercial conduct is deprioritized rather than legal, commercial sale is not covered and remains prohibited, and the substance remains illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act, which applies in the District.
2. History
The legal events behind this entry, dated and oldest first. Our own reviews and corrections are listed under Changes to this record.
District of Columbia voters approve Initiative 81, the Entheogenic Plant and Fungus Policy Act of 2020, with approximately 76% in favor.
Initiative 81 takes effect as D.C. Law 23-268 after the Congressional review period, codified at D.C. Code Title 48, Chapter 9C.
3. Proposed laws
No proposed law is on file in the District of Columbia that would change this entry, as of the 28 Sep 2026 review.
4. Common questions
Is psilocybin legal in the District of Columbia?
No. Psilocybin remains a controlled substance in the District and under federal law. Initiative 81 (D.C. Law 23-268) directs the Metropolitan Police Department to make non-commercial activity involving entheogenic plants and fungi, including psilocybin, its lowest enforcement priority, but it does not legalize the substance.
What did Initiative 81 actually do?
Initiative 81, the Entheogenic Plant and Fungus Policy Act of 2020, directed the Metropolitan Police Department to treat the investigation and arrest of adults 18 and older for non-commercial planting, cultivating, purchasing, transporting, distributing, and possessing entheogenic plants and fungi as among its lowest enforcement priorities, and called on prosecutors to cease prosecuting such non-commercial conduct. It did not change the District's controlled-substances schedules or create any licensed program.
Can you legally buy or sell psilocybin in Washington, D.C.?
No. Initiative 81 covers only non-commercial conduct. Commercial sale of psilocybin is not addressed by the measure and remains prohibited, and there is no licensed retail or therapeutic program authorized under D.C. Law 23-268.
Does federal law still prohibit psilocybin in the District of Columbia?
Yes. Psilocybin remains a Schedule I substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act, which applies in the District of Columbia regardless of Initiative 81's local enforcement-priority directive.
Are magic mushrooms ("shrooms") legal in the District of Columbia?
"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 decriminalized in the District of Columbia.
Read the law
Initiative 81 (Entheogenic Plant and Fungus Policy Act of 2020), D.C. Law 23-268, codified at D.C. Code Title 48, Chapter 9C1
Sources
This entry's status is checked against the primary sources below, and the methodology explains how each entry is graded for confidence.
- 1.code.dccouncil.gov (opens in new tab) · code.dccouncil.gov
- 2.ballotpedia.org (opens in new tab) · ballotpedia.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.
The District of Columbia entry was re-read against the Council's own law library on 28 September 2026. Initiative 81's rule is unchanged: police treat adult non-commercial use of psilocybin as one of their lowest priorities.
Checked against the D.C. Council's own record of the law. Nothing has changed since it took effect in March 2021.
The DC entry carried the wrong law number and the wrong effective date. It is D.C. Law 23-268, effective 16 March 2021. The status itself was confirmed.
Psilocybin Media Group. "District of Columbia: psilocybin legal status." The Psilocybin Record, accession US-DC-001, version of 28 Sep 2026. https://psilocybinlegalization.com/record/district-of-columbia