Psilocybin mushrooms, pronounce sil-uh-sy-bin, also known as “magic mushrooms.” The genus Psilocybe contains various species that produce psilocybin, the psychoactive chemical compound.

The Law: 

If charged with first-time simple possession by the feds it’s a misdemeanor where they can in theory jail you for up to one year plus fines, but first-time most likely will get probation or diversion program. If charged with intent to distribute by the feds, certainly you will face a multi-year felony prison sentence. That’s also how it is in 47 states. 

Colorado, New Mexico, and Oregon are lenient but it’s nuanced.

Colorado and ~30 cities have decriminalized psilocybin, but that doesn’t mean you are scot-free. It just means it’s low-priority. If they want to prosecute, they still can. Small-quantity possession will be let go. But trading it for money will get you canned.

In Oregon and New Mexico, they rolled back decriminalization. You have to use it at a licensed service center under supervision. This, in my opinion, is very unnecessary and super annoying. It’s like mandating cannabis use under supervision. I think it’s ridiculous.

Rangers in federal national parks, even in Colorado, New Mexico, and Oregon, can arrest you on the spot for mere possession.

The other 47 states vary in severity, but in theory they can all jail you for first-time possession. Those tend however to get probation or diversion. 

Most black-market edibles contain synthetic psychoactives. Synthetic isn’t bad per se if it’s produced safely and ethically, but I only want  the natural, real thing for a number of reasons. A lot of the edibles can also have questionable or undisclosed ingredients. There is zero oversight or liability with these. Therefore, I would not consume them. 

Counterarguments:

Some people bring up the fact that driving on shrooms is not safe. If you are toasted on a deep shroom trip, of course you can’t drive. But if you are microdosed, you probably would drive just as good as sober and rested. In other words, it wouldn’t make a different. 

In theory, one could be on prescription drugs, cannabis, or alcohol and still driving legally so long as they are not at the level of DUI impairment. So bringing up driving on shrooms is a tangent topic. 

Some people say shrooms are hallucinogenic. 

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a hallucinogen is a drug or substance that causes hallucinations, such as seeing, hearing, or feeling things that are not real.

According to medical and psychiatric authorities such as the American Psychiatric Association and clinical pharmacologists, a hallucinogen is a psychoactive agent that produces profound alterations in perception, cognition, and mood. This can include sensory distortions or seeing and hearing things that are not real, but more broadly encompasses altered states of consciousness where real stimuli are misinterpreted or distorted.

The connotation of hallucinating is primarily seeing things that aren’t real, aren’t there, etc. 

I disagree with the characterization of shrooms as hallucinogenic when “hallucinogenic” is understood to mean seeing things that aren’t real. They support epiphanies about yourself, your identity, the universe, and help you see truth. These fall squarely into “altered cognition” and “altered perception of self,” but in a positive way. If you read a good book, that is also causing altered cognition and perception of self, but we wouldn’t call that hallucinating. Not in a hallucinating negative connotation sense. Shrooms are mind opening and third eye opening. It’s evolving of the mind. But it’s not the mind seeing things that aren’t real.

So despite psilocybin mushrooms being pharmacologically classified as hallucinogens, the word hallucinogen can be misleading in ordinary usage because it’s commonly understood as perceiving things that aren’t there, whereas many psilocybin experiences involve altered or improved perception, intensified sensation, introspection, emotional insight, and a heightened sense of connection without necessarily producing conventional hallucinations.

I am reminded of Dumbledore’s famous quote: “Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” Altered perception can be improved perception, and be very real even though it didn’t exist in your mind before the experience. 

I also think the discussion should be separated between doing shrooms in a healthy mindset versus doing synthetic versions in edibles with other unknown substances, with other drugs in general, or in an unhealthy mindset with underlying mental health issues. 

If a person has underlying mental health issues, then it becomes a more nuanced topic. For many people, psilocybin can be experienced as mentally expansive or spiritually significant.

From my personal experience, shrooms are purely physical. My body feels revived but also shaky, like I just got out of a bed after being it in for too long. My mind is not “seeing or sensing” things that aren’t real. My mind is observing clear as day, and I feel very connected to what’s around me. I’m not having outlandish thoughts, but just deep empathetic and reflective thoughts. If I have a lot of shrooms and lie down, I will absolutely “experience the universe,” see patterns, and feel things that are abstract but real in my opinion. A low dose of shrooms is very mild mentally and produces more empathy and new perspectives on old beliefs. Which is why shrooms helps people beat or overcome addictions.

Conclusion: 

Nixon signed the Control Substances Act in 1970 and we are still following that 56 years later, despite knowing better. 

Shao, Ling-Xiao, Clara Liao, Ian Gregg, Pasha A. Davoudian, Neil K. Savalia, Kristina Delagarza, and Alex C. Kwan. “Psilocybin Induces Rapid and Persistent Growth of Dendritic Spines in Frontal Cortex In Vivo.” Neuron 109, no. 16 (2021): 2535–2544.e4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2021.06.008

Du, Yingjie, Yunfeng Li, Xiangting Zhao, Yishan Yao, Bin Wang, Liming Zhang, and Guyan Wang. “Psilocybin Facilitates Fear Extinction in Mice by Promoting Hippocampal Neuroplasticity.” Chinese Medical Journal 136, no. 24 (2023): 2983–2992. https://doi.org/10.1097/CM9.0000000000002647

Zhao, Xiangting, Yingjie Du, Yishan Yao, Wei Dai, Yongyu Yin, Guyan Wang, Yunfeng Li, and Liming Zhang. “Psilocybin Promotes Neuroplasticity and Induces Rapid and Sustained Antidepressant-like Effects in Mice.” Journal of Psychopharmacology 38, no. 5 (2024): 489–499. https://doi.org/10.1177/02698811241249436

Tobacco is one of the most proven causes of human cell damage yet our government legalizes it, companies make billions, and millions around the world get cancer from it yearly. Shrooms repairs neurons, helps people overcome addictions, and improves mental health, yet it’s a misdemeanor or felony and a potential prison sentence if you possess it.

Also should be legalized: ayahuasca (DMT-containing plants), DMT, iboga (ibogaine), peyote (mescaline), San Pedro and Peruvian torch cacti (mescaline), and Salvia divinorum (salvinorin A).

Internationally, Brazil, Costa Rica, Jamaica, and the Netherlands tend to be lenient or ambiguous when it comes to psilocybin laws, but even in these countries, it is not fully legal. The Netherlands banned psilocybin mushrooms in 2008, but psilocybin-containing truffles (sclerotia) remain legal. Sclerotia is the underground part of the shroom, called mycelium, that contains nutrients and smaller amounts of psilocybin, compared to the “caps” or top part. 

Thank you for reading. 

The Author,

Elia Kazan