Are Magic Mushrooms Legal in Pennsylvania? Psilocybin Laws (2026)

Magic mushrooms are not legal in Pennsylvania: psilocybin and psilocyn are Schedule I controlled substances under 35 P.S. 780-104(1)(iii), and knowingly possessing them without registration is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison, a $5,000 fine, or both (35 P.S. 780-113(a)(16), (b)). No Pennsylvania statute creates a psilocybin decriminalization, medical or therapy program, and the only psilocybin bills of the 2025-2026 session, SB 1149 and HB 1439, would act only after FDA approval of a psilocybin drug and have not moved past committee referral. For other states, see our guide to psilocybin mushroom laws by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-11. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Pennsylvania state law: the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act (Act 64 of 1972, 35 P.S. 780-101 et seq.), the Department of Health's schedules at 28 Pa. Code 25.72, the sentencing provisions in 18 Pa.C.S. 6317 and 7508, the controlled-substance DUI provision in 75 Pa.C.S. 3802(d), and the psilocybin bills of the 2025-2026 General Assembly, with one paragraph on federal law. It does not cover city or county resolutions or policies, court decisions applying these statutes (other than the rulings holding the mandatory minimums in 18 Pa.C.S. 6317 and 7508 unconstitutional), federal property, or other states' laws.

Are magic mushrooms legal in Pennsylvania?

No. Pennsylvania lists psilocybin and psilocyn, the compounds in psilocybin mushrooms, in Schedule I of the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act (often called Act 64). Schedule I is the state's most restrictive list, and possessing, delivering or manufacturing a Schedule I substance without registration is a crime under Section 13 of the Act.

Pennsylvania has no exception for small amounts of psilocybin. The Act's small-amount provision for marijuana, Section 13(a)(31), does not apply to psilocybin. No Pennsylvania statute creates a decriminalization, medical, therapy or "natural medicine" program for psilocybin, and no 2025-2026 act on psilocybin has been enacted.

What Pennsylvania's Schedule I covers

The Schedule I listing reaches any material that contains the two compounds, in any quantity:

"(iii) Any material, compound, mixture, or preparation which contains any quantity of the following hallucinogenic substances, their salts, isomers, and salts of isomers, unless specifically excepted, whenever the existence of such salts, isomers, and salts of isomers is possible within the specific chemical designation: ... 14. Psilocybin. 15. Psilocyn." (35 P.S. 780-104(1)(iii))

The Department of Health's regulatory schedule list repeats both substances, at 28 Pa. Code 25.72(b)(3)(xiv) and (xv). The official Pennsylvania Code site reflects code changes effective through 56 Pa.B. 5370 (August 8, 2026).

The Act names the compounds, not the mushrooms. Its text contains no separate entry for mushrooms or for spores. The listing's reach turns on whether a material "contains any quantity" of psilocybin or psilocyn; this page does not address how Pennsylvania courts have applied that clause to particular materials.

Penalties for psilocybin possession in Pennsylvania

Section 13(a)(16) prohibits "knowingly or intentionally possessing a controlled or counterfeit substance by a person not registered under this act," unless the substance was obtained under a valid prescription or order of a practitioner or as otherwise authorized by the Act. Section 13(b) sets the penalty:

"(b) Any person who violates any of the provisions of clauses (1) through (11), (13) and (15) through (20) or (37) of subsection (a) shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and except for clauses (4), (6), (7), (8), (9) and (19) shall, on conviction thereof, be sentenced to imprisonment not exceeding one year or to pay a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000), or both, ... but, if the violation is committed after a prior conviction of such person for a violation of this act under this section has become final, such person shall be sentenced to imprisonment not exceeding three years or to pay a fine not exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), or both." (35 P.S. 780-113(b))

So a first possession conviction carries up to one year, a $5,000 fine, or both. After a prior conviction under the section has become final, the maximum rises to three years, a $25,000 fine, or both. The Act sets these ranges itself; Section 13 has no weight-based tiers for psilocybin possession.

Act 64 also provides two dispositions for nonviolent offenses under the Act that can end without a conviction. Probation without verdict under Section 17 (35 P.S. 780-117) is for a person who pleads guilty or nolo contendere and proves drug dependency, and it is not available to a person with a prior conviction under the Act or a similar law, a prior misdemeanor or felony conviction, or a prior Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition. Disposition in lieu of trial under Section 18 (35 P.S. 780-118) is for a person who claims drug dependency or drug abuse and requests treatment before trial, if the prosecutor accepts a court-appointed physician's recommendation. Each is available only once.

Penalties for selling, delivering or manufacturing psilocybin

Section 13(a)(30) prohibits "the manufacture, delivery, or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver, a controlled substance by a person not registered under this act." Possession with intent to deliver is charged under the same clause as delivery itself.

The penalty depends on whether the substance is a narcotic drug. Act 64 defines "narcotic" by reference to opium and opiates, and psilocybin is a Schedule I hallucinogen, so delivery offenses involving psilocybin fall under Section 13(f)(2):

"(2) Any other controlled substance or counterfeit substance classified in Schedule I, II, or III, is guilty of a felony and upon conviction thereof shall be sentenced to imprisonment not exceeding five years, or to pay a fine not exceeding fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000), or both." (35 P.S. 780-113(f)(2))

The Act's definition of manufacture is broad. "Manufacture" includes the "production, preparation, propagation, compounding, conversion or processing" of a controlled substance, and "production" includes "the manufacture, planting, cultivation, growing or harvesting" of one. Because manufacture includes production, and production includes growing, the Act's text treats growing a controlled substance as manufacture under Section 13(a)(30). There is no separate psilocybin cultivation clause.

Sentencing enhancements

These provisions address the sentence for a delivery offense:

The repeat-offense rule in Section 15(a) reads: "Any person convicted of a second or subsequent offense under clause (30) of subsection (a) of section 13 of this act or of a similar offense under any statute of the United States or of any state may be imprisoned for a term up to twice the term otherwise authorized, fined an amount up to twice that otherwise authorized, or both." A prior federal or out-of-state offense can count.

The drug-free school zone statute, 18 Pa.C.S. 6317, by its terms applies to convictions under Section 13(a)(14) or (30), so it covers delivery and possession with intent to deliver, not simple possession. That two-year minimum cannot be imposed. In Commonwealth v. Hopkins, 117 A.3d 247 (Pa. 2015), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court concluded that Alleyne v. United States "renders Section 6317 unconstitutional" and that its invalid provisions could not be severed, leaving "an appropriate statutory response" to the General Assembly. The section's text has not been amended since it was added in 1997.

The weight-based mandatory minimums in 18 Pa.C.S. 7508 set tiers for marijuana, for Schedule I and II narcotic drugs and for other named substances, measured by the "aggregate weight of the compound or mixture containing the substance involved." The section's text does not name psilocybin, psilocyn or hallucinogens. The official code annotations also record that Section 7508 was declared unconstitutional, most recently by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Commonwealth v. DiMatteo, 177 A.3d 182 (2018).

Drug paraphernalia

Possessing, using or delivering drug paraphernalia connected with a controlled substance is a separate offense under Section 13(a)(32) and (33). Section 13(i) makes it a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $2,500, up to one year in prison, or both.

Overdose reporting immunity

Pennsylvania's Good Samaritan provision, 35 P.S. 780-113.7, protects a person who takes someone experiencing an overdose to a police agency, campus security office or health care facility, or who reports the overdose in good faith, gives their name and location, cooperates and stays until help arrives. That person, and the person who overdosed, cannot be charged with possession under Section 13(a)(16), with paraphernalia offenses under (32) and (33), or with probation and parole violations, unless police learned of the offense independently. The protection has a limit stated in the statute: it does not prevent "the investigation, arrest, charging or prosecution of a person for the delivery or distribution of a controlled substance, drug-induced homicide or any other crime not set forth in subsection (b)."

Is there a psilocybin therapy or research program in Pennsylvania?

No Pennsylvania statute creates a psilocybin therapy, medical or decriminalization program. Psilocybin remains in Schedule I, and the possession and delivery offenses apply to anyone not registered under the Act.

The Act's general research route applies. Its definition of "practitioner" includes a "scientific investigator, or other person licensed, registered or otherwise permitted to distribute, dispense, conduct research with respect to or to administer a controlled substance," and Section 6 requires registration with the Secretary of Health. Act 64 contains no psilocybin-specific research statute or research panel.

Pending bills: SB 1149 and HB 1439

Two 2025-2026 bills mention psilocybin. Both concern how Pennsylvania would schedule an FDA-approved psilocybin medicine; neither would legalize or decriminalize psilocybin, and neither would change its current Schedule I status.

• SB 1149 (Sen. Pennycuick) was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 23, 2026.
• HB 1439 (Rep. O'Mara) was referred to the House Health Committee on May 12, 2025.

As printed, the bills provide that, upon FDA approval, a pharmaceutical psilocybin composition (crystalline polymorph psilocybin in HB 1439, synthetic psilocybin in SB 1149) shall be scheduled to coincide with federal law. Within five business days after the DEA reschedules it, the Secretary must send notice for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, and the rescheduling takes effect 30 days after publication. HB 1439's text reads:

"(b.1) Notwithstanding subsection (a) or (c)(1), immediately upon approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration, the pharmaceutical composition of crystalline polymorph psilocybin shall be scheduled in a manner to coincide with Federal law, including 21 U.S.C. Ch. 13 Subch. I (relating to control and enforcement), regulations promulgated under 21 CFR Ch. II (relating to drug enforcement administration, Department of Justice) or any Federal judicial order." (HB 1439, Printer's Number 1678, section 3(b.1))

Neither bill has had committee action beyond referral. Neither is law.

How a federal change would reach Pennsylvania

Under current law, Pennsylvania follows a federal scheduling change only when the Secretary of Health acts. Section 3(a) lets the Secretary add substances by regulation after advice from the state board. Section 3(c)(1) lets the Secretary reschedule a substance to coincide with federal law by notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, with a move to a higher schedule taking effect no earlier than 30 days after publication. Section 3(d) allows temporary scheduling of an unlisted substance for one year, extendable by one year, on an imminent-hazard finding after a 14-day proposed notice and a 30-day comment period for the Attorney General.

Section 13's offenses apply to a "controlled substance," which the Act defines as "a drug, substance, or immediate precursor included in Schedules I through V of this act." That is why a federal action changes Pennsylvania's schedules only through one of these state steps.

Federal psilocybin law

Psilocybin and psilocyn are also federal Schedule I substances (21 CFR 1308.11(d)(29)-(30)), and federal simple possession of a controlled substance is a misdemeanor under 21 U.S.C. 844(a), punishable by up to one year and a minimum $1,000 fine for a first offense. No DEA or HHS rescheduling notice or rule for psilocybin appears in the Federal Register through October 11, 2026, and no psilocybin drug product had FDA approval as of October 2026. Executive Order 14401 (April 18, 2026) directs the FDA to give national priority vouchers to psychedelic drugs with Breakthrough Therapy designation and directs the Attorney General to review rescheduling of Schedule I products that complete Phase 3, but it does not reschedule psilocybin. Federal law still lists psilocybin in Schedule I in Pennsylvania, alongside Act 64.

Driving and criminal records

Pennsylvania's DUI statute, 75 Pa.C.S. 3802(d)(1), prohibits driving with any amount of a Schedule I controlled substance, or its metabolite, in the blood, and Section 3802(d)(2) separately covers driving while impaired by a drug; see our guide to Pennsylvania DUI laws. For whether a drug charge or conviction can be cleared from a record, see Pennsylvania expungement laws.

Related

• Psilocybin mushroom laws by state
• Pennsylvania DUI laws
• Pennsylvania expungement laws
• Pennsylvania kratom laws

This article provides general legal information about Pennsylvania state law as of October 11, 2026. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, including a pending charge, contact a lawyer licensed in Pennsylvania.

Last updated: 2026-10-11.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are magic mushrooms legal in Pennsylvania?

No. Psilocybin and psilocyn are Schedule I controlled substances under 35 P.S. 780-104(1)(iii), and possessing, delivering or manufacturing them without registration is a crime under 35 P.S. 780-113.

What is the penalty for possessing psilocybin mushrooms in Pennsylvania?

Knowing possession is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison, a $5,000 fine, or both (35 P.S. 780-113(a)(16), (b)). After a prior final conviction under the section, the maximum is three years, a $25,000 fine, or both.

Is selling psilocybin a felony in Pennsylvania?

Yes. Manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to deliver psilocybin is a felony under 35 P.S. 780-113(a)(30) and (f)(2), punishable by up to five years in prison, a $15,000 fine, or both, with possible enhancements for repeat offenses and sales to minors. The school-zone mandatory minimum in 18 Pa.C.S. 6317 was held unconstitutional in Commonwealth v. Hopkins (2015).

Is growing magic mushrooms illegal in Pennsylvania?

Act 64 defines manufacture to include production, and production to include cultivation and growing, so growing a controlled substance falls within the manufacture offense in 35 P.S. 780-113(a)(30), a felony for psilocybin.

Has Pennsylvania decriminalized psilocybin?

No. No Pennsylvania statute decriminalizes psilocybin or creates a therapy program. The only 2025-2026 psilocybin bills, SB 1149 and HB 1439, concern scheduling an FDA-approved psilocybin medicine and remain in committee.

Is there a psilocybin therapy program in Pennsylvania?

No. Pennsylvania has no state psilocybin therapy or medical program; research with controlled substances runs through the Act's general practitioner registration under 35 P.S. 780-106.

Can you get a DUI for psilocybin in Pennsylvania?

Yes. 75 Pa.C.S. 3802(d)(1) prohibits driving with any amount of a Schedule I controlled substance or its metabolite in the blood, and psilocybin and psilocyn are Schedule I in Pennsylvania.