Psilocybin possession, production and sale are illegal in Canada unless federally authorized. Read about authorization limits, the end of BCâs former exemption, and official health and legal resources.
No. Psilocybin and psilocin â the active compounds in magic mushrooms â are Schedule III substances under Canada's Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Possessing, producing, or selling them is illegal nationwide, with narrow exceptions for Health Canadaâauthorized clinical trials, Special Access Program approvals, and Section 56 exemptions. There is no legal recreational market anywhere in Canada as of 2026.
Psilocybin itself is federally controlled and illegal to possess without an exemption. The only lawful routes are a Health Canada Section 56 exemption, the Special Access Program, or an approved clinical trial â all of which require an application and are not available to the general public. Provinces cannot legalize it; drug scheduling is federal.
No. The law makes no distinction based on dose â a microdose of psilocybin is the same controlled substance as a full dose, so microdosing is legally identical to any other possession of psilocybin. It remains illegal without a federal exemption regardless of the amount.
No â this is a common misconception. B.C.'s 2023â2026 personal-possession decriminalization pilot covered only opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine, and MDMA. Psilocybin was never included. Magic mushrooms carry the same legal status in B.C. as in the rest of Canada.
Psilocybin mushroom spores technically contain no psilocybin, so their sale sits in a legal grey area and spores are sold openly for microscopy. However, the moment spores are germinated the resulting mycelium and mushrooms contain psilocybin, which is illegal to produce. Cultivation for anything other than authorized research is an offence.
CDSA section 4(6) sets a maximum of three years for indictable Schedule III possession. On summary conviction, the first-offence maximum is six months and/or a $1,000 fine; a subsequent offence carries up to one year and/or $2,000. These are statutory maxima, not predictions for an individual case. Source: Justice Canada, CDSA section 4; checked September 5, 2026.
