Are Magic Mushrooms Legal in California? Status as of 2026-10-26

Are magic mushrooms legal in California?

No, magic mushrooms are illegal in California under state law, and psilocybin is also Schedule I under federal law.

The state lists psilocybin and psilocyn as items (18) and (19) in Health and Safety Code 11054. Federal law lists both in Schedule I of 21 CFR 1308.11. Oakland, Santa Cruz, San Francisco and Berkeley have passed resolutions about enforcement. None of them repeals a statute. Everything below is dated as of 2026-10-26.

Decriminalized is a word that causes most of the confusion. Here it means a city asked its police to spend time elsewhere. It does not mean legal sale, and state and federal law still apply.

What does California state law say about psilocybin, act by act?

California law punishes every act with psilocybin mushrooms: possessing, growing, selling and giving away.

Act	California statute	Penalty in the statute text
Possess	11377(a)	Up to one year in county jail
Cultivate spores or mycelium to produce psilocybin mushrooms	11390	Up to one year in county jail, or state prison
Sell, furnish, give away, transport for sale	11379(a)	Two, three or four years
Transport spores or mycelium, or sell or give them away, to facilitate cultivation	11391	Up to one year in county jail, or state prison
Manufacture or produce a Schedule I substance	11379.6(a)	Three, five or seven years and a fine up to $50,000

Section 11379 uses the words “furnishes” and “gives away”. Sharing mushrooms with a friend for free is therefore inside the offense, not outside it. The table lists section 11379.6 because it covers producing any Schedule I substance. This page does not say whether it is charged for growing mushrooms. Ask a lawyer.

Are magic mushroom spores legal in California?

California does not have a clean “spores are legal” rule, because sections 11390 and 11391 target spores that are meant to produce psilocybin mushrooms.

Section 11390 punishes cultivating spores or mycelium with intent to produce psilocybin or psilocyn. Section 11391 punishes transporting, selling or giving away spores or mycelium to facilitate that cultivation. Neither section names a person who only buys. The intent behind the spores carries the weight in both.

Are mushrooms legal in San Francisco, Oakland, Santa Cruz and Berkeley?

Mushrooms are not legal in any of the four cities, which each passed a resolution asking police to make enforcement a low priority.

Act	Oakland (2019-06-04)	Santa Cruz (2020-01-28)	San Francisco (2022-09-06)	Berkeley (2023-07-11)
Possess	Named, adults	Named, age 21 and over	Named, adults	Named, plant or fungus-made only
Grow	Planting, cultivating	Cultivating	Cultivating	Cultivation for personal use
Buy	Purchasing	Not named	Purchasing	Not named
Sell or share	Distributing, transporting	Not named; commercial activity can be penalized	Distributing, transporting	Transfer enforcement kept
Form	Council resolution, unanimous	Council resolution, unanimous	Supervisors resolution, unanimous	Council resolution, unanimous

Oakland’s resolution text lists “planting, cultivating, purchasing, transporting, distributing, engaging in practices with, and/or possessing” among the lowest enforcement priorities, and it asks the Alameda County District Attorney to stop prosecuting (resolution text; NPR). CNN reported that the Santa Cruz resolution covers people 21 and older using, possessing or cultivating, and that commercial activity could still bring penalties (CNN via KVIA). A law firm’s reading of the San Francisco resolution calls it mostly symbolic, a set of requests to police and officials (Harris Sliwoski).

Berkeley’s column comes from the committee draft in the 2023-07-11 council packet. It deprioritizes possession of plant- or fungus-made psychedelics and personal cultivation. It keeps enforcement of laws on transfer and on lab-made drugs. Filter reported that the council adopted a resolution on that date (Filter). I did not find the final adopted text, so check it before relying on the details.

State and federal officers are not bound by any of these resolutions. The UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics also lists Arcata as a California city with a similar resolution (policy map); this page did not read Arcata’s text.

Can you buy mushrooms at a dispensary in California?

You cannot legally buy magic mushrooms at a dispensary in California, because section 11379 makes selling them a felony with no exception for cannabis stores.

The licensed cannabis market does not cover psilocybin. In May 2023 the Los Angeles Times described Los Angeles County storefronts with mushroom products in glass cases. Its reporters did not witness a sale. A sheriff’s lieutenant told the paper that mushrooms are commonly sold at dispensaries in unincorporated areas, where even cannabis-only outlets are illegal. The same story cites a sheriff’s tweet of April 2022 reporting 29 pounds of mushrooms seized from illegal dispensaries in the previous six months.

Two things follow for a buyer. A shop selling mushrooms is breaking state law. And the product is unregulated, as the next section shows.

What did California find in “mushroom” gummies and chocolate?

The California Department of Public Health found that TRE House “magic mushroom” gummies, chocolate bars and syrup contained a synthetic psilocin analogue.

On 2025-12-11 CDPH issued warning NR25-024. Its findings, as the release states them:

• All the products contained 4-Acetoxy-DET. Most also contained 4-Acetoxy-DMT.
• The labels read “Magic Mushroom Microdose Blend” and “Proprietary Nootropic Mushroom Blend”.
• Seven products were tested and found adulterated: three chocolate bars, three gummy flavors and one syrup.
• More than 1,000 pounds of the gummies were embargoed and then voluntarily destroyed.
• The products were sold to retailers such as smoke shops and online. CDPH said distribution beyond California was likely.
• No illnesses had been reported when the release was issued. CDPH advised anyone with ill effects to see a health care provider.

The release names a company in Chatsworth and says CDPH was investigating it and its contract manufacturers. A package that says “mushroom” can hold a different drug. Nobody should assume a product matches its label.

Will mushrooms be legalized in California? Bill timeline

No California bill has legalized or decriminalized psilocybin, and the last major attempts ended in a veto and a committee hold.

Date	Event	Status
2019-06-04	Oakland council resolution	City policy
2020-01-28	Santa Cruz council resolution	City policy
2021-22 session	SB 519: passed the Senate; Wiener said an Assembly committee gutted it and it never reached the Assembly floor (LA Times)	Not enacted
2022-09-06	San Francisco supervisors resolution	City policy
2022-12	SB 58 introduced by Senator Scott Wiener	Proposal
2023-07-11	Berkeley council resolution	City policy
2023-10-07	Governor Newsom returns SB 58 unsigned	Vetoed
2024-05-16	SB 1012 (regulated therapy) held in Senate Appropriations	Died
2025-10-10	AB 1103 signed: faster review for some psychedelic research studies	Law (research only)
2025-12-11	CDPH warning on TRE House products	Enforcement notice
2026-05	SB 1224 (research grants) passed the Senate	Proposal; later status not verified

SB 58 would have decriminalized possession, preparation, obtaining and transport of specified quantities of psilocybin, psilocyn, DMT and mescaline for people 21 and older from 2025-01-01. Newsom’s veto message praised psychedelic medicine and said the bill “would decriminalize possession prior to these guidelines going into place.” He asked for treatment guidelines with dosing information, therapeutic guidelines, rules against exploitation and medical clearance of no underlying psychoses.

Senator Wiener’s response was SB 1012. On 2024-05-16 his office said it was held in Senate Appropriations and cited the budget year (statement). The 2025 and 2026 entries come from the UC Berkeley policy map, which describes them as research measures. I could not open the legislature’s own bill pages, so confirm the current status of SB 1224 there.

Is psilocybin legal in California for treatment?

California has no licensed psilocybin treatment program, and the research bills above do not create one.

People with depression, PTSD or addiction should talk to a clinician about clinical trials and approved treatments. The CDPH case shows that the label on a mushroom product can be wrong. For a plain-language view of where licensed programs exist, start with the Psychedelic Status guides or the home page.