The Modern Revival · Law & decriminalization
The New Legal Map
2019–present
In a few short years, psilocybin went from uniformly illegal to a patchwork: decriminalised in some cities, regulated for supervised use in Oregon and Colorado, medically prescribable in Australia — and still federally prohibited in the United States.
From uniform prohibition to a patchwork
For half a century the legal status of psilocybin was simple: prohibited almost everywhere. Since 2019 that has fractured into a genuine patchwork, and the modern story cannot be told without it.
Three different models
It helps to keep the legal forms distinct, because coverage constantly blurs them:
- Decriminalisation removes or lowers criminal penalties without creating legal supply. Denver did this first in 2019; other cities followed.
- Regulated supervised access creates a licensed, non-medical framework for adults to take psilocybin at a service centre. Oregon’s Measure 109 (2020) was the world’s first, with centres operating from 2023; Colorado’s Proposition 122 (2022) added a “healing centre” model, licensed from 2025.12
- Medical prescribing routes the drug through doctors. Australia did this in 2023, letting authorised psychiatrists prescribe psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression — a national first.3
The federal contradiction
The sharpest fact on the map is a contradiction: in the United States, psilocybin remains Schedule I under federal law as of 2026, even as states build regulated access around it. That tension — state experiment against federal prohibition — is the defining feature of the current moment.
Read this page with a date in mind
More than anywhere else on the site, this is a moving target. The entry records the shape of the change, not a current legal opinion; anyone acting on it should check the statute in their own jurisdiction as it stands today. The archive documents the law’s movement — it does not advise breaking it.
Footnotes
Historical record
- 2019
Denver decriminalises
Denver, Colorado becomes the first US city to decriminalise psilocybin mushrooms, followed by other cities.
Later scholarly interpretation - 2020
Oregon Measure 109
Oregon votes to create the first US framework for regulated, licensed adult psilocybin services.
Later scholarly interpretation - 2022
Colorado Proposition 122
Colorado decriminalises personal use and authorises a regulated 'healing centre' access model.
Later scholarly interpretation - 2023
Australia reschedules
Australia allows authorised psychiatrists to prescribe psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression — a national first.
Later scholarly interpretation - 2023–2026
Access opens, unevenly
Oregon service centres and Colorado healing centres begin operating; more US states legislate, while federal law is unchanged.
Newly documented
What remains uncertain
- Law here is fast-moving and jurisdiction-specific; any summary dates quickly and should be checked against current statute.
- Decriminalisation, regulated supervised access, and medical prescribing are different legal models often blurred together in coverage.
- US federal law still classifies psilocybin as Schedule I as of 2026, in tension with several state frameworks.
Sources & further reading
State of Oregon (2020). Measure 109 — Oregon Psilocybin Services Act. Oregon Health Authority.
The first US framework for regulated, licensed adult psilocybin services; service centres began operating from 2023.
State of Colorado (2022). Proposition 122 — Natural Medicine Health Act. Colorado.
Decriminalised personal use of psilocybin for adults 21+ and created a regulated "healing centre" access model; first licences issued 2025.
Therapeutic Goods Administration (2023). Rescheduling of psilocybin for authorised prescriber use. Australian Government Department of Health (TGA).
From July 2023, Australia allowed authorised psychiatrists to prescribe psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression — the first national medical access of its kind.
Editorial record
Corrections history
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