The past three years have been monumental for psilocybin, a term that had not seen much popularity in the news or our legal system prior to the past 10 years. This compound naturally occurs in psilocybin mushrooms, better known colloquially and in popular culture as “magic mushrooms.” It is listed as a Schedule I controlled substance, like cannabis; both were categorized as such in 1970 as part of the Federal Controlled Substances Act.

This status means that it is illegal to possess, obtain, distribute or produce psilocybin, regardless of the purpose for its use. Additionally, currently it has no accepted medical use and lacks accepted safety for use under medical supervision. Similar to cannabis legislation, psilocybin has seen movement in state legislatures toward efforts of decriminalization, de-prioritization and, in some cases, legalization of its use for scientific and medical research.