Psilocybin remains fully illegal in New York in 2026, though a medical-use bill got its most serious airing yet in Albany before the session ended.
New York had not legalized psilocybin in any form as of mid-2026, but it is one of the states most often named as likely to move next. Magic mushrooms remain a Schedule I controlled substance under state law, so possessing, growing, or selling them can bring criminal charges anywhere in the state, including New York City. What has changed is the conversation in Albany: the Assembly's health committee chair is carrying the Medical Psilocybin Act (A2142, with Senate companion S5303), which was amended in May 2026 to route psilocybin only through licensed providers and a new class of qualified supervisors, modeled in part on New Mexico's medical program. It never came to a committee vote before the scheduled session ended June 4, 2026, leaving the legal picture unchanged. In the meantime, New Yorkers can legally buy functional mushrooms and amanita muscaria products, and psilocybin spores remain legal for microscopy only. Anyone seeking a legal, supervised psilocybin experience still has to travel to licensed programs in Oregon or Colorado.
Possession
Possession of any amount of psilocybin is a crime everywhere in New York State, including New York City. Any amount is at minimum a class A misdemeanor, and 25 milligrams or more of the pure hallucinogen is a class C felony.
Cultivation
Growing psilocybin mushrooms is illegal in New York. The Penal Law has no general cultivation or manufacturing offense for hallucinogens — its manufacturing crimes target methamphetamine (Penal Law 220.72-220.74) — so grows are charged under the possession sections, and because 25 milligrams or more of psilocybin is already a class C felony, a harvest can cross into felony territory quickly. Growing to distribute additionally exposes a person to sale charges, which are felonies at any amount.
Retail / purchase
No purchase of psilocybin is legal in New York in any form — there is no medical program, no licensed service centers, and no lawful retail. Storefronts and delivery services openly selling mushrooms in New York City are unlicensed and operate illegally; the only mushroom products sold legally are functional mushrooms and amanita muscaria.
Spores
Psilocybin spores are legal to buy and possess in New York for microscopy and research purposes because they contain no psilocybin, but germinating them into mycelium or mushrooms crosses into illegal territory. Spores are specifically restricted in only four states: California, Georgia, Idaho, and Florida, and — since July 1, 2025 — Florida, which made it a first-degree misdemeanor to sell, transport, import, furnish, or give away psilocybin spores or mycelium (Fla. Stat. 500.75). New York is not among them.
Amanita muscaria
Amanita muscaria is legal in New York — its active compounds, muscimol and ibotenic acid, are not scheduled under state or federal law — so dried caps and gummies are sold openly. The caveat is federal food law rather than drug law: the FDA has deemed Amanita muscaria and its constituents, including muscimol, unapproved for use in conventional foods and is still evaluating them in dietary supplements, and state agriculture regulators elsewhere (notably Florida) have taken enforcement action against amanita edibles. Louisiana (Act 159) remains the only state that bans the mushroom outright, and only for human consumption — ornamental use is exempt.
Recent changes
The 2025-2026 session was New York's most serious psilocybin push yet, but nothing passed. The Medical Psilocybin Act — A2142 (Asm. Paulin, chair of the Assembly Health Committee) and its Senate companion S5303 (Sen. Salazar) — was amended on May 8, 2026 into a supervised, provider-only model with a new licensed 'qualified supervisor' category, drawing on testimony from a September 2025 Assembly health hearing and modeled in part on New Mexico's 2025 medical psilocybin law. Both versions were recommitted to their health committees and never received a committee vote. S495 (Sen. Fernandez), a psilocybin-assisted therapy grant program and pilot aimed at veterans, first responders, and low-income patients, sat in Senate Finance; A628 (Asm. Rosenthal), which would legalize adult use of natural plant- and fungus-based psychedelics, sat in Assembly Health. None advanced before the session's scheduled June 4, 2026 adjournment. All four technically remain alive through the end of the two-year term on December 31, 2026, but with the regular session over they would realistically need to be reintroduced in the 2027-2028 session. New York has no citizen ballot-initiative process, so reform can only come through the legislature — there is no psilocybin ballot measure route in this state.
Under Penal Law 220.03, possessing any amount is criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, a class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail. Penal Law 220.09(6) makes possession of 25 milligrams or more of a hallucinogen a class C felony, and 220.18(5) makes 625 milligrams or more a class A-II felony. Sale of any amount is a class D felony under Penal Law 220.31. Note that these thresholds are measured by the weight of the psilocybin itself, not the weight of the mushrooms.
Legal options for New York residents
The nearest genuinely legal psilocybin access for New Yorkers is a licensed service center in Oregon or a licensed healing center in Colorado, both of which serve out-of-state visitors in 2026 with no residency requirement. New Mexico enacted a medical psilocybin program in April 2025, but it is a medical program with qualifying conditions and is not yet seeing patients — the state is targeting late 2026, ahead of a statutory December 31, 2027 deadline. At home, legal options are limited to spores for microscopy, amanita muscaria products, and functional mushrooms.
See also: can you buy magic mushrooms online legally? · shroom delivery: legal or scam?
FAQ
Are shrooms legal in New York?
No. Psilocybin mushrooms are illegal to possess, grow, or sell everywhere in New York State as of 2026, including New York City. Several reform bills are pending in Albany, but none has passed or even cleared a committee vote.
Can I buy magic mushrooms in New York?
No legal purchase exists. Any shop or delivery service selling psilocybin in New York is operating illegally. The only mushroom products sold legally in the state are functional (non-psychoactive) mushrooms and amanita muscaria.
Will New York legalize psilocybin in 2026?
Not this year. The Medical Psilocybin Act (A2142/S5303) was amended in May 2026 and is carried by the Assembly Health Committee chair, but it never got a committee vote and the legislature's scheduled session ended June 4, 2026 without passing it. Medical-use legalization is expected to be reintroduced in the 2027-2028 session. New York has no ballot-initiative process, so there is no voter-referendum path.
Are psilocybin spores legal in New York?
Yes, for microscopy only. Spores contain no psilocybin, so buying and owning them is legal in New York — but germinating them into mushrooms is illegal, and a harvest of 25 milligrams of psilocybin or more is a class C felony. Only California, Georgia, Idaho, and Florida restrict spores themselves.
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- NY State Assembly Bill A2142A — Medical Psilocybin Act (official bill status; amended and recommitted to Health May 8, 2026) (accessed 2026-07-29)
- NY State Senate Bill S5303A — Medical Psilocybin Act, Senate companion (Sen. Salazar; amended May 8, 2026, in Health) (accessed 2026-07-29)
- NY State Senate Bill S495 — psilocybin-assisted therapy program (official bill status; in Senate Finance) (accessed 2026-07-29)
- NY State Assembly Bill A628 — legalize adult use of natural plant/fungus hallucinogens (official bill status; in Assembly Health) (accessed 2026-07-29)
- Room for shrooms? Medical psilocybin access eyed for after-budget rush — City & State New York (May 15, 2026; notes June 4 scheduled session end) (accessed 2026-07-29)
- NY Penal Law § 220.09(6) — criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fourth degree, hallucinogen 25 mg or more (class C felony) (accessed 2026-07-29)
- NY Penal Law § 220.03 — criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree (class A misdemeanor) (accessed 2026-07-29)
- Fla. Stat. § 500.75 — psilocybin spore/mycelium prohibition, effective July 1, 2025 (context for spore-restricted states) (accessed 2026-07-29)