Are Magic Mushrooms Legal in Rhode Island? Psilocybin Laws (2026)

Psilocybin mushrooms are not legal in Rhode Island: psilocybin and psilocyn are Schedule I controlled substances in Rhode Island because R.I. Gen. Laws 21-28-2.01(a)(1) adopts the federal schedules, which list both as Schedule I hallucinogens (21 CFR 1308.11(d)(29) and (30)). Possessing 10 grams or less of a mixture containing a detectable amount is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 2 years, more than 10 grams but less than 1 ounce is a felony punishable by up to 3 years (21-28-4.01(c)(2)), and Rhode Island has no therapy program or decriminalization law that changes this for anyone. 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 Rhode Island state law on psilocybin and psilocyn: the federal-adoption clause of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act (R.I. Gen. Laws 21-28-2.01, with a note on the repealed 21-28-2.08), its definitions (21-28-1.02), its penalty and enhancement sections (21-28-4.01, 4.01.1, 4.01.2, 4.07, 4.07.1, 4.11, 4.14), its exemptions (21-28-3.30), the felony and misdemeanor definitions (11-1-2), the firearm provisions for crimes of violence (11-47-2, 11-47-3, 11-47-3.2), the Good Samaritan law (21-28.9-4), the impaired-driving statute (31-27-2) and two 2026 bills, with one paragraph on federal law. It does not cover city or town measures, Department of Health rules, federal property, employer or school policies or other states' laws.

Are magic mushrooms legal in Rhode Island?

No. Rhode Island repealed its own statutory schedule, 21-28-2.08, effective February 1, 2025 (P.L. 2024, ch. 390 and ch. 391, section 2). Since then, 21-28-2.01(a)(1) provides that the director of health "shall control all substances enumerated in the most current version of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.)," and 2.01(c) makes the current federal list "the current list of substances designated, rescheduled, or deleted as a controlled substance for the state." The federal Schedule I names the two compounds in psilocybin mushrooms in its hallucinogens paragraph, 21 CFR 1308.11(d):

Unless specifically excepted or unless listed in another schedule, any material, compound, mixture, or preparation, which contains any quantity of the following hallucinogenic substances, or which contains any of its salts, isomers, and salts of isomers ... (29) Psilocybin (30) Psilocyn

The schedule lists psilocybin by compound, not by mushroom. The psilocybin and psilocyn entries name no mushroom, spore or other plant material. What the listing turns on is whether a material "contains any quantity" of either compound.

The Department of Health keeps its own list of substances the director has added to the schedules. Its April 2026 Rhode Island Controlled Substance Listing adds 4-HO-MET (also called metocin or methylcybin) to Schedule I. That is a different tryptamine; psilocybin itself is controlled through the federal list.

Psilocybin possession penalties in Rhode Island

Possession is graded by weight. Section 21-28-4.01(c)(2) provides, for a person who possesses a controlled substance:

(i) Except as otherwise provided in §§ 21-28-4.01.1 and 21-28-4.01.2, ten grams (10 g.) or less of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of a controlled substance classified in schedules I, II, III, IV, and V, except buprenorphine and the substance classified as marijuana, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, may be imprisoned for not more than two (2) years, or fined not more than five hundred dollars ($500) or both. (ii) ... more than ten grams (10 g.), but less than one ounce (1 oz.) of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of a controlled substance classified in schedules I, II and III, IV, and V, except buprenorphine and the substance classified as marijuana, is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, may be imprisoned for not more than three (3) years, or fined not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), or both.

The 2-year maximum for the misdemeanor tier is higher than Rhode Island's usual misdemeanor cap. The general definition in 11-1-2 sets a misdemeanor at a term "not exceeding one year," but it applies "Unless otherwise provided," and 4.01(c)(2)(i) provides otherwise.

The tiers count "a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount" of the controlled substance. Sections 4.01, 4.01.1 and 4.01.2 set no separate weight rule for mushrooms and no carve-out for the rest of the material in a mixture.

Under 21-28-4.01(c)(4), a person convicted under either possession tier, (c)(2)(i) or (ii), who is not sentenced to prison must perform up to 100 hours of community service and must complete a drug-counseling and education program and pay $400 toward it; failure to attend can bring, after a court hearing, up to one year in jail. If a vehicle was used to transport the substance or the substance is found within a vehicle, the person faces a 6-month license loss for a first offense and one year for each later offense.

Large quantities: Rhode Island's trafficking sections

Two sections grade larger amounts. Section 21-28-4.01.1(a) makes it unlawful "to manufacture, sell, or possess with intent to manufacture or sell, a controlled substance classified in schedule I or II (excluding marijuana) or to possess or deliver the following enumerated quantities of certain controlled substances," and carries "a term up to fifty (50) years" and a fine of "not more than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000)." Its opening clause names no drug and no quantity; its quantity list, from one ounce up to one kilogram, names specific drugs. Section 21-28-4.01.2 covers more than one kilogram and carries "a term up to life" and a fine of "not more than one million dollars ($1,000,000)."

The drugs named in those quantity lists are heroin, cocaine, phencyclidine (PCP), LSD, marijuana, "synthetic drugs," fentanyl, carfentanil, MDMA, amphetamine and methamphetamine. Psilocybin and psilocyn are not named. The chapter defines "synthetic drugs" as "any synthetic cannabinoids or piperazines or any synthetic cathinones as provided for in schedule I" (21-28-1.02(46)), a definition that does not name psilocybin. On its words, though, the opening clause of 4.01.1(a) reaches manufacturing or selling, or possessing with intent to manufacture or sell, any Schedule I substance other than marijuana, which includes psilocybin.

Selling, delivering or manufacturing psilocybin in Rhode Island

Sale and production can be charged under the manufacture and delivery clause, 21-28-4.01(a)(1):

(1) Except as authorized by this chapter ..., it shall be unlawful for any person to manufacture, deliver, or possess with intent to manufacture or deliver a controlled substance.

The penalty depends on whether the person is a "drug-addicted person," a term defined in 21-28-1.02. Under 4.01(a)(2), a person who is not a drug-addicted person and who violates the subsection with a Schedule I or II substance (other than marijuana) "may be imprisoned to a term up to life or fined not more than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) nor less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or both." Under 4.01(a)(4)(i), anyone else "may be imprisoned for not more than thirty (30) years, or fined not more than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) nor less than three thousand dollars ($3,000), or both."

The statute calls these offenses a "crime" without a class label. Under 11-1-2, any offense that "may be punished by imprisonment for a term of more than one year, or by a fine of more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), is declared to be a felony," unless otherwise provided.

Section 4.01 contains no separate cultivation offense. Producing a Schedule I substance can be charged as manufacture under 4.01(a)(1), with the penalties above.

Enhanced penalties: minors, school zones and repeat offenses

Delivery to a minor. Under 21-28-4.07(a), an adult who delivers a Schedule I substance to a person under 18 who is at least three years younger faces up to life imprisonment, a fine of up to $500,000, or both, with a minimum term of 15 years that the court may go below only on findings the section states.

School, park and playground zones. Section 21-28-4.07.1 provides:

Any person who violates 21-28-4.01(A), 21-28-4.01.1, or 21-28-4.07 by distributing or manufacturing a controlled substance listed in schedules I or II in the building or on the grounds, or within three hundred (300) yards of the grounds of a public or private elementary, vocational, or secondary school, or public park or playground shall be punished by a term of imprisonment or fine, or both, up to twice that authorized by 21-28-4.01(A) or 21-28-4.07, but not exceeding life imprisonment.

The zone enhancement applies to distributing or manufacturing; it does not name simple possession.

Repeat offenses. Under 21-28-4.11(a), a second offense under the chapter can bring up to twice the authorized term and fine, but that section excludes violations of 4.01(c)(2)(i), so a second conviction for 10 grams or less is not doubled under it. Under 21-28-4.14(a), a third or subsequent offense can bring up to three times the authorized term; that section's exclusions list 4.01(c)(2)(iv), (v) and (vi), and does not list (c)(2)(i).

Firearms. Rhode Island's weapons chapter defines a "crime of violence" to include "any felony violation involving the illegal manufacture, sale, or delivery of a controlled substance, or possession with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver a controlled substance classified in schedule I or schedule II of § 21-28-2.08, any violation of § 21-28-4.01.1 or § 21-28-4.01.2" (11-47-2(6)). Committing or attempting a crime of violence "when armed with or having available any firearm" carries 3 to 10 years for a first conviction, 10 to 20 years for a second and 15 years to life for a third or later one, and the person "shall not be afforded the provisions of suspension or deferment of sentence, nor of probation" (11-47-3). Using a firearm while committing or attempting a crime of violence carries 10 years for a first offense, imposed consecutively to the sentence for the underlying crime, without deferment of sentence or parole (11-47-3.2(a)). The 11-47-2(6) definition still cross-references the repealed schedule section 21-28-2.08, and its text does not say how that reference applies after the repeal; its separate reference to violations of 21-28-4.01.1 does not depend on it.

Is there a psilocybin program or exception in Rhode Island?

Chapter 21-28 creates no psilocybin therapy program and no personal-use exception for psilocybin, and its exemptions article (Article III) has no section setting up a psychedelic research panel. The chapter's general exemptions in 21-28-3.30 cover groups such as carriers and public officers, and "(4) Persons lawfully in possession or control by reason of a proper order, prescription, license, or registration." It is a general exemption; it does not create a psilocybin program.

2026 psilocybin bills (not law)

Neither bill appears among Rhode Island's 2026 public laws. Bills that are not enacted are not law, and possession of psilocybin remains a crime under 21-28-4.01.

Would FDA approval or federal rescheduling change Rhode Island law?

The sections of chapter 21-28 described on this page contain no provision tied to FDA approval of a psilocybin drug. The chapter does have a general federal-adoption clause. Under 21-28-2.01(a)(1), the director of health "shall control all substances enumerated in the most current version of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.)," and under 2.01(c) the director references the current federal list "as the current list of substances designated, rescheduled, or deleted as a controlled substance for the state," unless the director objects and files that decision with the secretary of state. Because 21-28-2.08 was repealed in 2025, Rhode Island no longer has a separate statutory listing of psilocybin. Read on its text, 2.01(c) means a federal rescheduling or descheduling of psilocybin would carry into Rhode Island law unless the director of health objects and files that decision with the Secretary of State. That is a reading of the statute's words, not a court ruling, and the director's power to object means the result is not automatic.

Good Samaritan protection

Rhode Island's Good Samaritan law, 21-28.9-4(a), provides that a person who, "in good faith, without malice and in the absence of evidence of an intent to defraud, seeks medical assistance for someone experiencing a drug or alcohol overdose or other drug- or alcohol-related medical emergency shall not be charged or prosecuted for any crime related to the possession of a controlled substance or drug paraphernalia, or the operation of a drug-involved premises, if the evidence for the charge was gained as a result of the seeking of medical assistance." Subsection (b) extends the protection to the person experiencing the emergency. The section was most recently amended by P.L. 2025, ch. 375 and ch. 377, effective July 1, 2025.

Federal psilocybin law

Psilocybin and psilocyn are also federal Schedule I hallucinogens, reaching any material, compound, mixture or preparation containing any quantity of them (21 CFR 1308.11(d)(29), (30), October 6, 2026 version). Federal simple possession of a controlled substance is a misdemeanor under 21 U.S.C. 844(a), with a term of up to 1 year and a minimum $1,000 fine for a first offense. No psilocybin drug is FDA-approved, and no DEA or HHS notice to reschedule psilocybin appears in the Federal Register through October 11, 2026. Executive Order 14401 (April 18, 2026) directs federal agencies to act on psychedelic drugs, including a review of rescheduling Schedule I products that complete Phase 3 trials, but it does not reschedule psilocybin and creates no enforceable right. Our psilocybin mushroom laws by state hub covers the federal layer in more detail.

Driving after taking psilocybin in Rhode Island

Rhode Island's impaired-driving statute, 31-27-2(a), applies to anyone who drives "while under the influence of any intoxicating liquor, drugs, toluene, or any controlled substance as defined in chapter 28 of title 21, or any combination of these," and under 31-27-2(b)(1) guilt may rest on evidence that the person was under the influence "to a degree that rendered the person incapable of safely operating a vehicle." A separate sentencing tier in 31-27-2(d)(1)(i) covers a driver "who has a blood presence of any scheduled controlled substance as defined in chapter 28 of title 21," and psilocybin is a scheduled substance. See our guide to Rhode Island DUI laws.

Clearing a psilocybin conviction

A possession conviction under 21-28-4.01 is a criminal record. Our guide to Rhode Island expungement laws explains which records can be sealed or expunged and how.

Related

• Psilocybin mushroom laws by state
• Rhode Island DUI laws
• Rhode Island expungement laws
• Rhode Island kratom laws

This article provides general legal information about Rhode Island state law as of October 11, 2026. It is not legal advice. The penalty text quoted from 21-28-4.01 carries a history line ending with P.L. 2023, ch. 395, effective June 27, 2023. The former statutory schedule, 21-28-2.08, was repealed effective February 1, 2025, and Rhode Island's schedules now follow the federal list under 21-28-2.01. The legislature's bill history shows H 7756 withdrawn at the sponsor's request on April 9, 2026 and no action on H 7925 after its committee referral. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Rhode Island.

Last updated: 2026-10-11.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are magic mushrooms legal in Rhode Island?

No. Psilocybin and psilocyn are Schedule I controlled substances in Rhode Island through R.I. Gen. Laws 21-28-2.01, which adopts the federal schedules, and the listing covers any material or mixture containing any quantity of them. Rhode Island has no psilocybin therapy program or decriminalization law.

What is the penalty for possessing psilocybin in Rhode Island?

Under 21-28-4.01(c)(2), 10 grams or less of a mixture containing a detectable amount of a Schedule I substance is a misdemeanor with up to 2 years and a fine of up to $500, or both. More than 10 grams but less than 1 ounce is a felony with up to 3 years and a fine of up to $5,000, or both.

Is selling psilocybin mushrooms a felony in Rhode Island?

Delivery or possession with intent to deliver a Schedule I substance is a crime under 21-28-4.01(a) punishable by up to 30 years and a fine of $3,000 to $100,000, or up to life and $10,000 to $500,000 for a person who is not a drug-addicted person. Rhode Island's general definition in 11-1-2 treats any offense punishable by more than one year as a felony.

Does the weight of the whole mushroom count in Rhode Island?

The possession tiers in 21-28-4.01(c)(2) are measured by the weight of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of the controlled substance. Section 4.01 sets no separate weight rule for mushrooms.

Did Rhode Island decriminalize psilocybin?

No. Two 2026 bills, H 7756 and H 7925, would have added an exemption for less than one ounce of psilocybin under listed conditions, but H 7756 was withdrawn by its sponsor on April 9, 2026, H 7925 did not advance past committee referral, and neither is among the 2026 public laws.

Can I drive after taking psilocybin in Rhode Island?

Driving under the influence of drugs or any controlled substance is an offense under 31-27-2(a), and a separate sentencing tier covers a driver with a blood presence of any scheduled controlled substance. Psilocybin is a scheduled controlled substance in Rhode Island.

Is there a Good Samaritan law for psilocybin overdoses in Rhode Island?

Yes. Under 21-28.9-4, a person who in good faith seeks medical help for someone experiencing a drug overdose or drug-related emergency cannot be charged with possession of a controlled substance if the evidence was gained as a result of seeking help.