Is psilocybin legal in California?
Illegal. Possession and cultivation are criminal offences. Penalties range from a fine to many years in prison.
What the law says
Illegal statewide, with several cities that have made enforcement the lowest priority: Oakland, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Berkeley, Arcata and Eureka. A statewide decriminalization bill was vetoed in 2023.
Psilocybin is Schedule I under federal law in the United States, whatever this state does.
Instrument: HSC §11390; city resolutions · Checked: 2026-08-09
Possession
Possession and cultivation are criminal offences. Penalties range from a fine to many years in prison. (general reading of the status; this entry does not quote a possession rule)
Cultivation
Production is typically the most serious of the offences here. Where possession may draw a caution or a fine, growing is charged as production or manufacture, and sentences are measured in years. Quantity, equipment and anything that reads as supply all make it worse. This entry does not separately track cultivation. Read the instrument named below and a local source before you act.
Spores
This entry does not name spores. Spores contain no psilocybin and are treated separately in many places, but germinating them is cultivation wherever the mushrooms are controlled.
Questions
Is psilocybin legal in California?
Illegal. Illegal statewide, with several cities that have made enforcement the lowest priority: Oakland, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Berkeley, Arcata and Eureka. A statewide decriminalization bill was vetoed in 2023. Psilocybin is Schedule I under federal law in the United States, whatever this state does.
Can you grow magic mushrooms in California?
Production is typically the most serious of the offences here. Where possession may draw a caution or a fine, growing is charged as production or manufacture, and sentences are measured in years. Quantity, equipment and anything that reads as supply all make it worse. This entry does not separately track cultivation. Read the instrument named below and a local source before you act.
Are mushroom spores legal in California?
This entry does not name spores. Spores contain no psilocybin and are treated separately from mushrooms in many places, but germinating them is cultivation wherever the mushrooms are controlled. Read the instrument named on this page: HSC §11390; city resolutions.
Which law covers psilocybin in California?
HSC §11390; city resolutions. Checked 2026-08-09. This is journalism, not legal advice.
This is journalism, not legal advice. Laws change, and enforcement varies inside a single country. Read the instrument named above and take local advice before you make a decision.