Is psilocybin legal in California?

Current status

• Psilocybin and psilocyn are listed as hallucinogenic substances in Schedule I of the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act, Cal. Health and Safety Code 11054(d)(18) and (19). (California Legislative Information, current page)

• Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed SB 58, which would have decriminalized personal possession of certain plant-based psychedelics, on 7 October 2023; the veto was sustained on 25 January 2024. (California Legislative Information, 25 Jan 2024)
• AB 1103 (Chapter 571, Statutes of 2025), approved 10 October 2025, requires the Research Advisory Panel to review in-state research involving Schedule I or II substances and lets it expedite review of qualifying projects until 1 January 2028. (California Legislative Information, 10 Oct 2025; California Legislative Information, 10 Oct 2025)
• Bills in the 2025-2026 session to create a psilocybin research pilot for veterans and first responders (SB 751) and to fund an emerging-therapies research partnership (SB 1224) died in Appropriations committees. (California Legislative Information, 2 Feb 2026; California Legislative Information, 13 Aug 2026)

Decriminalized cities and counties

• Oakland, 2019: City council resolution (No. 87731 C.M.S.), passed unanimously in June 2019, declaring that investigation and arrest of adults for using or possessing entheogenic plants and fungi be among the city's lowest law-enforcement priorities. (Chacruna Institute, 17 Feb 2020; KQED, 5 Jun 2019)
• Santa Cruz, 2020: City council resolution (No. NS-29,623), approved unanimously on 28 January 2020, making personal use and possession of entheogenic plants and fungi by adults 21 and older among the lowest police priorities. (Chacruna Institute, 17 Feb 2020; City on a Hill Press, 31 Jan 2020)
• Arcata, 2021: City council resolution approved unanimously in October 2021 making personal possession, cultivation and sharing of entheogenic plants and fungi among the city's lowest law-enforcement priorities. (Marijuana Moment, 7 Oct 2021)
• San Francisco, 2022: Board of Supervisors Resolution No. 379-22, passed 6 September 2022, urging that investigation and arrest of adults for entheogenic plant use be amongst the city's lowest priorities. (San Francisco Board of Supervisors, 6 Sep 2022)
• Berkeley, 2023: City council resolution adopted unanimously on 11 July 2023 de-prioritizing enforcement of criminal penalties for entheogenic and psychedelic plants and fungi for personal use. (City of Berkeley, 11 Jul 2023; Filter, 14 Jul 2023)
• Eureka, 2023: City council resolution passed unanimously in October 2023 making personal use, cultivation and possession of psychedelic plants and fungi by adults 21 and older a low police priority. (Marijuana Moment, 19 Oct 2023)

A local lowest-priority measure tells city or county police and prosecutors where to spend their time. It does not change state or federal law, and state or federal officers can still enforce it.

Penalties

• Possessing a controlled substance listed in Health and Safety Code 11054(d) (other than paragraphs (13), (14), (15) and (20)), which includes psilocybin, without a prescription is punishable by up to one year in county jail (Cal. Health and Safety Code 11377(a)). (California Legislative Information, current page; California Legislative Information, current page)

Federal law applies in California too

• 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)
• Outside the exemptions, distributing a Schedule I substance not named in the large-quantity tiers carries up to 20 years and a fine of up to $1,000,000 for an individual on a first offence (21 U.S.C. 841(b)(1)(C)); simple possession carries up to 1 year and a minimum fine of $1,000 on a first offence (21 U.S.C. 844(a)). (Legal Information Institute (Cornell) reproducing the U.S. Code, current; Legal Information Institute (Cornell) reproducing the U.S. Code, current)

Questions and answers

Is psilocybin legal in California?

Psilocybin is illegal in California: it is a Schedule I controlled substance under Health and Safety Code 11054, and possession is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail, though several cities have made it a low enforcement priority.

Has any city in California decriminalized psilocybin?

6 local measures: Oakland (2019), Santa Cruz (2020), Arcata (2021), San Francisco (2022), Berkeley (2023), Eureka (2023). Local measures set enforcement priorities; they do not change state or federal law.

Are there psilocybin bills in California?

None is pending. Recent bills: AB 1103, Signed 10 October 2025 (Chapter 571, Statutes of 2025); SB 751, Held in Senate Appropriations 23 May 2025; returned to Secretary of Senate under Joint Rule 56 (dead) 2 February 2026; AB 2489, Held under submission in Assembly Appropriations 14 May 2026; died; SB 1224, Passed Senate; held in Assembly Appropriations 13 August 2026; died at end of session; SB 1012, Held in Senate Appropriations 16 May 2024; died; SB 58, Vetoed 7 October 2023; veto sustained 25 January 2024.

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