What psychedelics legalisation and decriminalisation looks like around the world

Research continues to progress on the potential mental and physical health benefits of psychedelics used in a therapeutic context. Yet psychedelic substances remain illegal around much of the globe, with notable exceptions.

As of 2024, some psychedelics have been given a legal or decriminalised foothold in: parts of Central Africa (Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon and Republic of the Congo), South Africa, Australia, the Bahamas, Brazil, the British Virgin Islands, Canada, the Czech Republic, Costa Rica, Israel, Jamaica, Mexico, Nepal, the Netherlands, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Samoa, Spain, Switzerland and the United States.

Psychedelics include psilocybin (which can be found in "magic mushroom"), MDMA ("ecstasy" or "molly"), LSD ("acid") ayahuasca, peyote and ibogaine among others. The legal landscape of these substances is changing globally amidst continuous emerging research on the various benefits of their therapeutic use. Psychedelics have been shown to help with mental health conditions, such as treatment-resistant depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They're also being studied for the relief of physical health conditions, such as those related to chronic pain.

"Psychedelics are not only very effective at treating a wide range of indications that currently lack treatment options but are also proving, when used responsibly, very safe," says Grace Blest-Hopely, a neuroscientist and psychedelic researcher affiliated with King’s College London, in the UK.

In some countries, various psychedelics have full legalisation. In other countries, certain psychedelics have been legalised only under specific contexts. And still in other areas, some psychedelics have been decriminalised. "Decriminalisation" can mean different things; generally it implies that people can possess or use a personal amount of the substance despite it being illegal, although sometimes minor fines apply.

"It literally means that they're not going to put resources behind arresting and prosecuting people," says Mason Marks, a visiting professor at Harvard Law School and the senior fellow and lead of the school’s Project on Psychedelics Law and Regulation.

Marks says that criminalisation of drugs, including psychedelics, creates more harm than good.

"What happens when you criminalise something is that people don't want to talk about it with their doctors," he says. "People can't talk amongst themselves. It's quite plausible that when something is criminalised, people might hesitate to call for emergency medical services."

Emergency department visits tend to be rare for LSD and psilocybin, though more common for MDMA (Credit: Getty Images)

Blest-Hopely agrees. "I believe that legalisation of all drugs", she says, "allows for the removal of criminal activity from the supply chain and adults to make decisions on what they put in their bodies. That is also true for attaining products that are assured for quality."

But she adds a note of caution. "Psychedelics are extremely powerful substances," she says. "Any change in legislation towards better access, I would welcome greatly. However, it must come with education around psychedelics in their totality. Not just the positives, but also the risks, the effects and the enormity of impact that using large doses of substance can have, acutely and long term."

Arguments against legalisation and decriminalisation include concerns over any potential increase in substance use disorders. However, psychedelics are currently being studied as a potential treatment for substance use disorders and are not considered addicting themselves. Other concerns include potential increases in psychedelic-related emergencies, such as emergency department visits for "bad trips." However, emergency department visits tend to be rare for LSD and psilocybin, though more common for MDMA. 

Here’s a closer look at the status of psychedelics around the globe, including the ever-changing landscapes of legalisation, decriminalisation and drug review agency approvals.

Are psychedelics legal in the United Kingdom?

"Psychedelic substances are still very much controlled in the UK," says Blest-Hopely, who is also the founder of Hystelica, a UK-based community of researchers aimed at investigating psychedelics and their effects on female biology.

"Psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin are both still Schedule 1, defined as having 'no therapeutic benefit' and requiring a licence from the home office (government), plus considerable security and cost implications to conduct research," she says.

Advocacy groups are pushing for change in the UK. "There have been movements within government lobbying groups to allow access to psilocybin for therapeutic relief in end-of-life cancer patients and military veterans," Blest-Hopely adds. "Sadly, all discussions brought to the [parliamentary] chamber and the government have been swiftly done away with, stating no plans of the government to review or change the status."

Ibogaine, which is being studied for opioid use disorder and PTSD, comes from the sacred iboga plant, native to Central Africa, where it is used by Indigenous communities for ceremonial purposes in Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon and Republic of the Congo. In these areas, ibogaine generally lacks a legal framework regulating it. It is, however, legal in Gabon, where it is protected.

South Africa

In South Africa, ibogaine is considered a medication and can be provided by licensed professionals.

Australia

In 2023, Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), the agency responsible for regulating medicines, decided to allow authorised psychiatrists to prescribe some psychedelics for certain mental health conditions. The TGA permits the prescribing of MDMA for PTSD and psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression. Ibogaine can also be prescribed to treat addiction in Australia.

"The decision acknowledges the current lack of options for patients with specific treatment-resistant mental illnesses," the TGA wrote in a press release.

The Bahamas

Psilocybin is legal to possess and use, but not to sell, in the Bahamas.

The British Virgin Islands

Psilocybin is also legal to possess and use, but not to sell, in the British Virgin Islands.

Peru

Ayahuasca is also legal in Peru, which in 2008, designated the psychedelic a part of Indigenous heritage.

Mexico 

In Mexico, psychedelics are generally considered illegal. However, there is an exception that has made the country a hotspot for psychedelic retreats: Article 195 bis of the Federal Penal Code states that people cannot be prosecuted for spiritual or ceremonial use of psilocybin or 5-MeO-DMT. The latter is secreted by a gland in the Sonoran Desert toad and is also found in some plants. Ibogaine is unregulated in Mexico, making the country a place where people seek treatment. Peyote is legal in Mexico only for Indigenous ceremonies and traditions.

Costa Rica

Though not legal, personal drug use is not prosecuted in Costa Rica. And ibogaine is unregulated in Panama.

Psychedelics in the European Union

The European Union classifies psychedelics as Schedule I, meaning they are highly controlled and illegal except for "scientific or limited medical purposes." The European Medicines Agency, the agency's Central Nervous System Working Party and representatives from the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology recently issued commentary in the journal Lancet.

The authors acknowledge that mental health issues affect one in six people in the EU. "There is a need for effective, safe new treatments for mental disorders," the commentary says. "In the past decade there has been a renewed interest worldwide in psychedelics as potential treatments for various mental health conditions."

The Czech Republic

Despite the illegality of psychedelics across the EU, some countries within Europe have moved to either legalise or decriminalise certain substances. The Czech Republic, for example, decriminalised personal possession of small amounts of psilocybin, MDMA, LSD and peyote.

The Netherlands

In The Netherlands, psilocybin truffles are legal, though other forms of the compound are not. And ibogaine is unregulated in the country. Other psychedelics remain illegal.

Germany

In Germany, ibogaine is unregulated, except for pharmaceutical rules under the German Medicinal Products Act. The country has several ibogaine treatment centres.

Portugal

Portugal, at the start of the 21st century, decriminalised the personal possession and use of all drugs. Spain has also decriminalised drug use.

Switzerland

Switzerland has decriminalised substance use in general. The psychedelic LSD was accidentally synthesised in the country by chemist Albert Hoffman. Switzerland now allows for restricted compassionate use in a medical context of LSD and some other psychedelics. The Federal Office of Public Health must grant permits for such use. The agency says roughly 70 physicians have permits.

“This means that a small number of patients are treated with these substances each year while we await larger studies about safety and efficacy,"says Abigail Calder, a psychedelic researcher and doctoral candidate at the University of Fribourg.

Switzerland has had the exceptional use program in place off and on since the 1980s, Calder adds, and the most recent law has been in effect since 2014. "This makes them the first country in the modern era to have legal psychedelic therapy, albeit only on official request," she says. "I doubt there are any plans to legalise psychedelic therapy more broadly until there is more research on safety and efficacy."

Israel

Israel, in 2019, approved a compassionate use programme for the therapeutic use of MDMA in people with PTSD and for several other patients.

Jamaica

Jamaica is a popular place for psychedelic tourism, thanks to its lack of a law surrounding psilocybin. Magic mushrooms have never been illegal in the country.

Nepal

In Nepal, psychedelics such as psilocybin are not explicitly mentioned in the country’s Narcotic Drugs (Control) Act 2033. The UC Berkeley Center for Psychedelic Sciences reports that psilocybin is legal in the country.

Canada 

Canada and the US have been slowly expanding access to psychedelic substances. In Canada, most psychedelics are illegal based on their classifications under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, with a few exceptions.

The psychedelic compound 5-MeO-DMT is legal for personal use and possession in Canada. And although mescaline is listed as a Schedule III controlled substance, peyote is not. Mescaline is extracted from peyote.  In 2022 Health Canada, the government's department responsible for health policy, added a special amendment to its Special Access Program (SAP). The amendment allows physicians to request access to psilocybin, MDMA, DMT, LSD and other psychedelics.

"The SAP is only available for certain serious medical conditions, is meant for emergency basis only, and patients cannot possess [the substance] but must be administered it by the doctor or psychotherapist. It is not meant for long-term access," says Harrison Jordan, the founder of Substance Law, a firm focusing on regulatory compliance regarding psychedelics and other controlled substances.

Health Canada added ibogaine to its Prescription Drug List in 2017, but the agency does not recognize its medical use. Therefore SAP requests are unlikely to be granted.

The Canadian province of British Columbia has decriminalised small amounts of illicit drugs. And Alberta, in early 2023, implemented a framework for regulating and licensing some health care providers to administer some psychedelics for mental health treatment.

The United States

In the US, psychedelics are considered illegal under the Controlled Substances Act. However, Native American ceremonial use of peyote is protected under federal regulation and in at least 28 states.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), however, granted breakthrough therapy designation for MDMA for PTSD in 2017. In 2018, the agency first granted the same designation for psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression. These designations helped allow psychedelic research to progress.

In 2024, the FDA is considering MDMA for therapeutic use in conjunction with psychological intervention in people with PTSD, now that the agency has accepted an application from Lykos Therapeutics. In addition to small changes at the federal level, some states and cities have moved to legalise psychedelics for medical purposes or decriminalise them for personal use.

The state of Oregon decriminalised most drugs in 2020 via Measure 110. However, the governor is set to sign a bill to recriminalise. Republican opposition to Measure 110 grew after a spike in fatal opioid overdoses. Research published in 2023 found that Measure 110 was not associated with the increase in the short term. But longer-term research is needed.

A group of business and political leaders in the state called for a ballot measure to repeal or alter the law, and many Democrats who were once in favour of Measure 110 changed their position. Opponents of recriminalisation note that Measure 110 was supposed to direct cannabis tax revenue towards addiction services. However, the pandemic hindered the process. If the governor signs the new bill, the state's legalisation of psilocybin use at licenced psilocybin service centres will remain in effect.

The state of Colorado decriminalised the possession and use of small amounts of natural psychedelic substances for those 21 and over. The state also legalised, due to start in late 2024, the supervised use of psilocybin at licensed facilities or with licensed clinical facilitators. In 2026, the state may start legalising additional plant-based psychedelic substances, such as DMT, ibogaine, or mescaline in the same contexts.

A growing list of cities across the US have also made changes to their laws surrounding psychedelics. "Decriminalisation has been a very popular approach at the local level," Marks says. "There are about two dozen cities across the country that have decriminalised to one extent or another."

The list includes Washington, DC, which in 2020, decriminalised the personal use of psilocybin. "So far it's only successfully been done through a ballot initiative by voters," Marks adds.

In one exception, the California state legislature passed a bill to decriminalise the personal use and possession of psychedelics. "But the executive branch said no," Marks says.

Samoa 

In the region of Oceania, psilocybin is legal in Samoa.

New Zealand

Ibogaine can be legally prescribed in New Zealand.

-bbc