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

Magic mushrooms are illegal in Tennessee: psilocybin and psilocyn are Schedule I controlled substances under Tenn. Code Ann. 39-17-406(d), which lists each one as a "constituent of magic mushrooms," and knowingly possessing a controlled substance is a Class A misdemeanor under Tenn. Code Ann. 39-17-418. Making, delivering or selling psilocybin, or possessing it with intent to do so, is a Class B felony, and none of the Tennessee laws covered here creates a psilocybin therapy program or decriminalizes possession. 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 Tennessee state law on psilocybin: the Schedule I listing (Tenn. Code Ann. 39-17-406), the definition of a controlled substance (39-17-402), the possession and sale offenses (39-17-418, 39-17-417, 39-17-419), the drug-free zone statute (39-17-432), sentencing ranges (40-35-111), overdose immunity (63-1-156), the federal-adoption provision (39-17-403(d)) as amended by 2026 Public Chapter 1008, and the 2026 HOPE Treatment Act (Public Chapter 1119), with one paragraph on federal law. It does not cover city or county measures, employer or school policies, military rules or other states' laws.

Are magic mushrooms legal in Tennessee?

No. Tennessee's Schedule I includes a list of hallucinogenic substances. Tenn. Code Ann. 39-17-406(d) opens:

"Hallucinogenic substances, unless specifically excepted or unless listed in another schedule, means any material, compound mixture, or preparation that contains any quantity of the following hallucinogenic substances..."

Two entries on that list are the compounds found in psilocybin mushrooms: "Psilocybin (constituent of magic mushrooms)" and "Psilocyn (constituent of magic mushrooms)." The Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services' controlled-substance rule lists the same two entries among the hallucinogenic substances in Schedule I (Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0940-06-01-.01).

A "controlled substance" under Tenn. Code Ann. 39-17-402(4) means "a drug, substance, or immediate precursor in Schedules I through VII." Psilocybin and psilocyn are therefore controlled substances, and the possession and sale offenses below apply to them.

The Schedule I list names the two compounds. Apart from the parenthetical "constituent of magic mushrooms," neither the Schedule I list nor the definitions in 39-17-402 mention mushrooms, fungi or spores. The reach of the listing turns on "any material, compound mixture, or preparation that contains any quantity" of psilocybin or psilocyn.

Penalties for psilocybin possession in Tennessee

Tenn. Code Ann. 39-17-418(a) provides:

"It is an offense for a person to knowingly possess or casually exchange a controlled substance, unless the substance was obtained directly from, or pursuant to, a valid prescription or order of a practitioner while acting in the course of professional practice."

Under 39-17-418(c)(1), "Except as provided in subsections (d) and (e), a violation of this section is a Class A misdemeanor." The same section makes a casual exchange of a controlled substance a Class A misdemeanor too, with one exception that reaches psilocybin: under 39-17-418(d), a casual exchange to a minor by an adult who is at least two years older and knows the person is a minor "is punished as a felony as provided in § 39-17-417," the sale statute, under which a Schedule I offense is a Class B felony. Subsection (e) concerns repeat possession involving heroin.

Tennessee's sentencing statute, Tenn. Code Ann. 40-35-111(e)(1), sets the Class A misdemeanor range at "not greater than eleven (11) months, twenty-nine (29) days or a fine not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), or both, unless otherwise provided by statute."

Overdose immunity. Tenn. Code Ann. 63-1-156(b) provides that a person "who in good faith seeks medical assistance for a person experiencing or believed to be experiencing a drug overdose shall not be arrested, charged, or prosecuted for a drug violation if the evidence for the arrest, charge, or prosecution of the drug violation resulted from seeking such medical assistance." The statute defines "drug violation" as a violation of 39-17-418 (possession) or 39-17-425, so it does not reach the sale offenses in 39-17-417. For the person who overdosed, the immunity "shall apply to the person experiencing a drug overdose only on the person's first such drug overdose."

Penalties for selling or sharing psilocybin

Tenn. Code Ann. 39-17-417 makes it an offense to knowingly manufacture, deliver or sell a controlled substance, or to possess one with intent to manufacture, deliver or sell it. For Schedule I substances, 39-17-417(b) provides:

"A violation of subsection (a) with respect to a Schedule I controlled substance is a Class B felony and, in addition, may be fined not more than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000)."

Possession with intent. Intent can be inferred. Under Tenn. Code Ann. 39-17-419, "It may be inferred from the amount of a controlled substance or substances possessed by an offender, along with other relevant facts surrounding the arrest, that the controlled substance or substances were possessed with the purpose of selling or otherwise dispensing."

Weight tiers. Section 39-17-417 raises the grade by weight. For Schedule I or II substances that the weight tiers do not name, the tiers count "any substance containing a controlled substance classified in Schedule I or II." Psilocybin is not one of the substances the tiers name, so these catch-all tiers are the ones that reach it.

The prison terms come from Tenn. Code Ann. 40-35-111(b): a Class A felony carries "not less than fifteen (15) nor more than sixty (60) years," and a Class B felony "not less than eight (8) nor more than thirty (30) years." The fines in the table are the ones 39-17-417 itself sets.

Minors. Subsection (k) provides that a violation "where the recipient or the intended recipient of the controlled substance is under eighteen (18) years of age shall be punished one (1) classification higher than provided in subsections (b)-(i)."

Drug-free zones. Under Tenn. Code Ann. 39-17-432(b)(1), a violation of 39-17-417:

"may be punished one (1) classification higher than is provided in § 39-17-417(b)-(i) if the violation or the conspiracy to violate the section occurs: (A) On the grounds or facilities of any school; or (B) Within five hundred feet (500') of or within the area bounded by a divided federal highway, whichever is less, the real property that comprises a public or private elementary school, middle school, secondary school, preschool, child care agency, public library, recreational center, or park."

There is a limit for some of those places. Under 39-17-432(b)(3), a person convicted "who is within the prohibited zone of a preschool, childcare center, public library, recreational center or park shall not be subject to additional incarceration as a result of this subsection (b) but may be subject to the additional fines imposed by this section." The enhancement applies to 39-17-417 offenses, not to simple possession under 39-17-418.

Tennessee's 2026 laws and psilocybin

Federal-adoption rule. Under Tenn. Code Ann. 39-17-403(d)(1), when a substance is designated, rescheduled or deleted under federal law and the commissioner of mental health and substance abuse services is notified, the commissioner "shall similarly control the substance" after 30 days from Federal Register publication of a final order, unless the commissioner objects within that 30-day period. Public Chapter 1008 (House Bill 2136, 2026) added subdivision (d)(2):

"If no objection is filed under subdivision (d)(1) for a substance that is approved by the United States food and drug administration and designated or scheduled under federal law by a final order published in the Federal Register, then the substance is considered to be in the same schedule as such substance is designated or scheduled under the federal schedule of controlled substances after the expiration of thirty (30) days from the date of publication of the final order."

That clause would matter for psilocybin only if the FDA approved a psilocybin drug and a final federal order scheduled it. As of October 2026, no psilocybin drug has FDA approval and no federal order has moved psilocybin out of Schedule I, so the clause does not apply to psilocybin today.

HOPE Treatment Act. The 2026 HOPE Treatment Act (Public Chapter 1119, Senate Bill 2149, substituted for House Bill 2075), signed and effective May 27, 2026, lets Tennessee research institutions take part in federally authorized clinical trials of ibogaine. Its text names ibogaine and does not mention psilocybin, so it does not change psilocybin's Schedule I status.

Federal psilocybin law

Psilocybin and psilocyn are also Schedule I hallucinogens under federal law (21 CFR 1308.11(d)), which reaches any material, compound, mixture or preparation containing any quantity of them. Federal simple possession of a controlled substance is a misdemeanor under 21 U.S.C. 844(a), with up to one year in prison and a minimum $1,000 fine for a first offense. No DEA or HHS notice or rule rescheduling psilocybin appears in the Federal Register through October 11, 2026. Executive Order 14401 (April 2026) directs the FDA to give national priority vouchers to psychedelic drugs with Breakthrough Therapy designation and the Attorney General to review rescheduling of Schedule I products that complete Phase 3 trials; it does not reschedule psilocybin. Our psilocybin mushroom laws by state hub covers the federal layer in more detail.

Driving and criminal records

Tenn. Code Ann. 55-10-401(1) makes it a crime to drive or be in physical control of a vehicle on public roads while under the influence of any intoxicant, controlled substance, drug, substance affecting the central nervous system, or combination of them that impairs the ability to drive safely, which includes psilocybin. Our guide to Tennessee DUI laws covers penalties. A misdemeanor or felony drug conviction creates a criminal record; whether it can later be cleared is covered in our guide to Tennessee expungement laws.

Related

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

This article provides general legal information about Tennessee state law as of October 11, 2026. It is not legal advice. Quotations from the Tennessee Code Annotated come from the 2021 published edition of the code, read with the later public chapters named on this page; the 2023 One Pill Will Kill Act (Public Chapter 386) amended only 39-17-417(c), which covers certain Schedule II substances. Check the official code for the current text. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Tennessee.

Last updated: 2026-10-11.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are magic mushrooms legal in Tennessee?

No. Psilocybin and psilocyn, which Tenn. Code Ann. 39-17-406(d) lists as constituents of magic mushrooms, are Schedule I controlled substances, and knowingly possessing a controlled substance is a Class A misdemeanor under 39-17-418.

What is the penalty for possession of mushrooms in Tennessee?

Simple possession is a Class A misdemeanor under Tenn. Code Ann. 39-17-418(c)(1), punishable by up to 11 months and 29 days, a fine of up to $2,500, or both (40-35-111(e)(1)).

What is the penalty for selling psilocybin in Tennessee?

Manufacturing, delivering or selling a Schedule I substance, or possessing it with intent to do so, is a Class B felony under Tenn. Code Ann. 39-17-417(b): 8 to 30 years and a fine of up to $100,000. At 2,000 grams or more of any substance containing it, the offense is a Class A felony with a fine of up to $500,000.

Has Tennessee decriminalized psilocybin?

No. Psilocybin and psilocyn remain in Schedule I under Tenn. Code Ann. 39-17-406(d), and the 2026 HOPE Treatment Act concerns ibogaine clinical trials, not psilocybin.

Would FDA approval of psilocybin change Tennessee law?

Possibly. Under Tenn. Code Ann. 39-17-403(d)(2), added by 2026 Public Chapter 1008, an FDA-approved substance scheduled by a final federal order takes the same Tennessee schedule 30 days after publication unless an objection is filed. No psilocybin drug has FDA approval as of October 2026.

Does Tennessee's Good Samaritan law cover psilocybin possession?

Tenn. Code Ann. 63-1-156 bars arrest or prosecution for possession under 39-17-418 when the evidence resulted from seeking medical help for a drug overdose in good faith. It does not cover sale offenses, and the person who overdosed is covered only for a first overdose.