No business in Santa Cruz can legally sell psilocybin — the city's 2020 resolution only made adult personal use, possession and cultivation the lowest priority for local police, and psilocybin is still a Schedule I controlled substance under California law.
Santa Cruz appears on almost every list of American cities that "decriminalized" mushrooms, and that reputation does a lot of work it was never meant to do. In January 2020 the city council voted unanimously to make adult personal use, possession and cultivation of entheogenic plants and fungi the lowest priority for city police. It was a resolution about enforcement, and it deliberately said nothing about selling. In July 2026 psilocybin is still a Schedule I controlled substance in California: SB 58 was vetoed in 2023, the follow-up therapy bill SB 1012 died in committee in 2024, the narrow veterans' research pilot SB 751 was returned to the Secretary of the Senate in February 2026, and no licensed retail or supervised-session program exists anywhere in the state. California is also one of the few states whose law reaches psilocybin spores themselves, which is why spore vendors will not ship here. So the honest answer to "magic mushrooms near me" in Santa Cruz is that the legal mushroom economy here is culinary and medicinal — a genuinely good one, given the farms and markets in this county — while the psilocybin side is informal, untested, and still illegal to buy from.
The legal picture in Santa Cruz
On January 28, 2020 the Santa Cruz City Council voted unanimously to make adult (21+) personal use, personal possession and personal cultivation of entheogenic plants and fungi among the lowest enforcement priorities for the Santa Cruz Police Department. That resolution changed police priorities, not the law: it authorized no commercial sale or distribution, and it does not bind the county sheriff, California state agents, or federal agents. Statewide, psilocybin and psilocyn remain Schedule I controlled substances in 2026 under Health and Safety Code section 11054(d) — SB 58, which would have decriminalized personal possession, was vetoed in October 2023; the follow-up regulated-therapy bill SB 1012 died in Senate Appropriations in 2024; and SB 751, a narrow University of California research pilot for veterans and former first responders, was held on the Appropriations suspense file and returned to the Secretary of the Senate on February 2, 2026. California therefore has no licensed sale and no licensed supervised-session program.
Places operating legally in Santa Cruz
What about the storefronts you may have heard of?
Because the 2020 resolution is widely reported as "decriminalization," Santa Cruz has drawn informal supply: delivery numbers, "donation" and gifting arrangements, and organizations framing psilocybin distribution as a religious sacrament. None of that is legal. The resolution covers personal use and cultivation only, selling psilocybin remains a criminal offense under state law, and California courts have not recognized a general religious exemption for psilocybin sales. Directory listings — including some on ShrooMap itself — sometimes carry generic product labels like "magic truffles" that the shop does not actually stock, so a listing is not evidence that anything psychoactive is sold there. Buyers in this market get no lab testing, no dosing standards, and no consumer recourse.
Legal alternatives
California is one of only a handful of states that reaches the spores themselves: Health and Safety Code section 11390 makes it a crime to cultivate spores or mycelium capable of producing psilocybin or psilocyn with intent to produce that controlled substance, and section 11391 makes it a crime to transport, import, sell, furnish or give away those spores or mycelium for the purpose of facilitating a violation of 11390. Both carry an intent element rather than being a flat possession ban, but the practical effect is the same: major spore vendors will not ship to California addresses, and there is no lawful psilocybin grow-kit purchase here — though spawn and kits for culinary species like oyster, shiitake and lion's mane are legal and sold locally. Amanita muscaria is a different mushroom with a different drug in it and is not scheduled under California or federal law, so amanita gummies and capsules turn up in some smoke shops and wellness stores; those products are unregulated, inconsistently dosed, and not a substitute for psilocybin. The nearest lawful supervised psilocybin access is Oregon, where adults 21+ can book a session at a state-licensed service center with no residency requirement and no diagnosis, consuming on site — southern Oregon is several hundred miles north of Santa Cruz. Colorado's licensed healing centers work the same way.
Full state law: are shrooms legal in California? →
See also: buying magic mushrooms online — what's actually legal · shroom delivery: legal or scam?
FAQ
Where can I buy shrooms in Santa Cruz?
Nowhere legally. No shop, church, delivery service or directory listing in Santa Cruz can lawfully sell psilocybin. The city's 2020 resolution changed how police prioritize personal use, not whether selling is a crime — sale and distribution remain criminal offenses under California law.
Are magic mushrooms legal in Santa Cruz?
No. Adult personal use, possession and cultivation are the Santa Cruz Police Department's lowest enforcement priority under the January 2020 council resolution, but psilocybin is still Schedule I under both California and federal law. The resolution does not bind the county sheriff, state agencies or federal officers, and it offers no protection outside city limits.
Can I buy mushroom spores or a grow kit in Santa Cruz?
Not for psilocybin species. Health and Safety Code section 11390 criminalizes cultivating spores or mycelium capable of producing psilocybin with intent to produce it, and section 11391 criminalizes transporting, selling, furnishing or giving them away for the purpose of facilitating that cultivation — a rule most states do not have, and one that leads major spore vendors to refuse California shipping. Spores, spawn and kits for culinary species such as oyster, shiitake and lion's mane are legal and available in and around Santa Cruz.
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- Smartshops in Santa Cruz — ShrooMap (accessed 2026-07-28)
- Far West Fungi, Santa Cruz — ShrooMap profile (accessed 2026-07-28)
- Santa Cruz Mushroom Store & Cafe — Far West Fungi (address, hours) (accessed 2026-07-29)
- California Health and Safety Code section 11390 — cultivation of psilocybin spores/mycelium (accessed 2026-07-29)
- California Health and Safety Code section 11391 (2025) (accessed 2026-07-28)
- California SB 751 (2025-26) bill history — held in committee, returned to Secretary of the Senate 2026-02-02 (accessed 2026-07-29)
- Are Psilocybin Mushrooms Legal in California? (Updated 2026) (accessed 2026-07-28)
- Oregon Psilocybin Services — Oregon Health Authority (accessed 2026-07-28)
- How to Access Psilocybin Services — Oregon Health Authority (21+, no residency or referral, on-site only) (accessed 2026-07-29)