Ayahuasca and DMT: the law in the United States

Federal law

• Peyote and mescaline are listed in Schedule I(c) of the Controlled Substances Act, as are psilocybin, psilocyn, DMT and ibogaine. (Legal Information Institute (Cornell) reproducing the U.S. Code, current)

States that have acted

Law changes, US and abroad

• Spain, 10 Jul 2025: The Madrid High Court (TSJM ruling 316/2025), the first higher-court decision on ayahuasca in Spain, upheld an acquittal and found that ayahuasca as a complex plant preparation is not individually listed or explicitly prohibited. It binds only within Madrid; the Supreme Court has not ruled, and DMT remains controlled. (ICEERS, 29 Jul 2025)
• Costa Rica, 27 Jan 2025: The Ministerio de Salud issued a health warning: ayahuasca and ibogaine products lack sanitary registration and are not authorised for therapeutic use, DMT is on the international and national lists of controlled substances, and any ayahuasca or ibogaine product must comply with national control and registration rules. It advised against advertising them. (Ministerio de Salud de Costa Rica, 27 Jan 2025)
• Colorado, 23 May 2023: SB23-290 (Natural Medicine Regulation and Legalization) was signed. It sets up licensing of facilitators (Department of Regulatory Agencies) and natural medicine businesses (Department of Revenue), limits 'natural medicine' to psilocybin and psilocyn unless regulators add DMT, mescaline or ibogaine on or after 1 June 2026, and expressly excludes peyote. (Colorado General Assembly, 23 May 2023; Colorado General Assembly, 23 May 2023)
• Brazil, 25 Jan 2010: CONAD Resolution No. 1/2010 restricted the ayahuasca tea to religious rituals, prohibited its sale, asked entities to avoid tourist packages, and said therapeutic use outside a religious context is not recognised. (Ministerio da Justica e Seguranca Publica / Diario Oficial da Uniao, 25 Jan 2010)
• Peru, Jun 2008: The National Institute of Culture (Resolucion Directoral Nacional No. 836/INC) declared the traditional knowledge and uses of ayahuasca by native Amazonian communities Cultural Heritage of the Nation. It protects traditional use and does not license retreats. (Agencia Peruana de Noticias Andina, 12 Jul 2008)
• Portugal, 29 Nov 2000: Lei n.o 30/2000 made consumption, acquisition and possession for personal use of controlled substances an administrative offence rather than a crime. Supply remains drug trafficking. (Diario da Republica, I Serie-A, n.o 276, 29 Nov 2000)
• Brazil, 4 Feb 1986: CONFEN Resolution No. 06 provisionally suspended the ban on ayahuasca. In September 1987 CONFEN approved a working-group report recommending that the plants be excluded from the prohibited lists, which made the exclusion definitive. (Ministerio da Justica e Seguranca Publica / Diario Oficial da Uniao, 25 Jan 2010)

Outside the United States

• International, Psychedelic plants: The 1971 Convention controls DMT, psilocybin and mescaline as substances, but no plants or plant decoctions (INCB 2010, para 284). Governments may control them nationally. source
• Peru, Ayahuasca: Traditional use declared national cultural heritage (2008). No licensing regime for retreats. source
• Costa Rica, Ayahuasca: Law 8204 controls DMT but does not name ayahuasca. The Health Ministry warned on 27 January 2025 that ayahuasca products are not authorised for therapeutic use. source
• Brazil, Ayahuasca: Religious ritual use only under CONAD Resolution 1/2010, which bars sale and asks entities to avoid tourist packages. source
• Mexico, DMT: Ley General de Salud art. 245 group I lists DMT. source
• Colombia, Ayahuasca: No law permits or prohibits yage; Indigenous traditional use has cultural recognition. No framework for retreats. source
• Ecuador, Ayahuasca: No primary source names ayahuasca; the Constitution protects ancestral medicine in general terms. source
• Spain, Ayahuasca: Madrid High Court (316/2025) held ayahuasca as such is not a listed substance; the Supreme Court has not ruled, and DMT stays controlled. source

Every country, with all citations