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California
Psilocybin legal status, legislation & access — 2025
State-level frameworks do not change federal controlled-substance status.
Status depends on the activity: possession, supervised administration, sale, transport, cultivation, research, and service provision may be treated differently.
What local context does not answer
Local context can explain policy history, state rules, city ordinances, public-health resources, and community support. It cannot determine whether a substance is safe, effective, lawful for a specific person, available through a specific channel, or appropriate for any individual.
Enforcement context
Oakland lit the fuse. On June 4, 2019, the city council voted 9-0 to deprioritize enforcement against a wide range of entheogenic plants and fungi — not just psilocybin, but ayahuasca, iboga, peyote cacti, the works. Denver had done psilocybin-only a month earlier. Oakland went broader. Within months, the Decriminalize Nature network had spread the template to more than 100 cities across the country.
California's cities kept moving. Santa Cruz followed in January 2020. San Francisco in September 2022. Berkeley, Arcata, Eureka. Six California cities in total passed local enforcement-priority resolutions. And the state legislature passed SB 58 — a bill that would have decriminalized personal possession for adults. It cleared both chambers and landed on Governor Newsom's desk in October 2023.
He vetoed it. Not with a flat 'no' — with a conditional one. In his veto message, Newsom wrote: 'Both peer-reviewed science and powerful personal anecdotes lead me to support new opportunities to address mental health through psychedelic medicines.' Then he said he couldn't sign it without treatment guidelines, dosing rules, and medical screening in place first. The legislature spent 2024 trying to build exactly that: SB 1012 would have created a licensed therapy framework. It didn't make it out of committee. SB 751, a narrower pilot for veterans and former first responders, also stalled in 2025. AB 1103, signed in October 2025, updated controlled-substance research rules for institutions — real, but aimed at researchers, not the public.
As of June 2026: six cities with local enforcement-priority policies. Zero statewide framework. Psilocybin remains a Schedule I controlled substance under California law (Health & Safety Code §11054) and under federal law.
Cities in California
Local policy context
This section summarizes policy context. It is not legal advice or current-law verification.
California's psilocybin story is a study in contradictions. The state that spawned Decriminalize Nature, whose cities passed the resolutions that spread to over 100 cities nationwide, has never enacted a single statewide law. A bill cleared the full legislature and was still vetoed. The governor asked for medical guardrails; the guardrails bill died in committee. Six cities moved fast. The capitol didn't move at all.
Legal and policy timeline
This timeline documents policy and legal history. It does not describe current access options.
- Jun 2019NewsOakland passes the first broad entheogen resolution
Oakland's City Council voted unanimously to deprioritize enforcement against entheogenic plants and fungi — covering psilocybin mushrooms, iboga, ayahuasca ingredients, and peyote cacti. Denver had passed a psilocybin-only measure a month earlier. Oakland went broader. Councilmember Noel Gallo, who introduced the resolution, explained his grandmother had treated family members with entheogenic plants his whole life: 'That was our Walgreens,' he told reporters. Within months, the Decriminalize Nature network had used Oakland's template to push similar measures in over 100 U.S. cities.source →
- Sep 2023NewsGovernor Newsom vetoes SB 58
SB 58, authored by Sen. Scott Wiener, cleared both chambers of the California legislature — a rare achievement for psychedelic reform at state level. Newsom vetoed it on October 7, 2023, writing in his veto message that 'peer-reviewed science and powerful personal anecdotes' led him to support psychedelic medicine, but that he couldn't sign without treatment guidelines, dosing rules, and medical screening for underlying psychosis in place first. It was a conditional no. Wiener called it 'a huge missed opportunity.'source →
- 2024NewsSB 1012 regulated-therapy bill fails
SB 1012 was written specifically to answer Newsom's veto rationale — a licensed psychedelic-assisted therapy framework with the guardrails he had asked for. It failed to advance out of committee. The precondition Newsom set went unmet, and the legislative cycle reset with nothing enacted.source →
- Oct 2025NewsAB 1103 signed (research, not access)
AB 1103 updated California's rules around controlled-substance research, making it easier for licensed institutions to conduct psilocybin studies. A genuine policy change — but it was aimed at researchers, not the public. No service centers, no therapy access, no personal possession change.source →
Ballot measure history
Frequently asked questions
Did California legalize psilocybin therapy?
No. SB 58 passed the legislature in 2023 and was vetoed by Governor Newsom, who wrote that he supported psychedelic medicine but wanted treatment guidelines first. SB 1012 — built to provide those guidelines — failed in committee in 2024. AB 1103, signed in October 2025, updated research rules for institutions only. There is no licensed psilocybin therapy in California as of June 2026.
Does this page tell me where to access psilocybin in this state?
No. This page covers legal status, policy history, and public-health context only. It does not name vendors, service centers, providers, or access routes — and there are none to name under California or federal law.
Is a city deprioritization resolution the same as legalization?
No. A deprioritization resolution tells local police to treat certain enforcement as low priority. It doesn't change state law, doesn't bind state or federal prosecutors, and doesn't create a legal market. Psilocybin remains a state offense in Oakland as it does everywhere else in California.
Does state or city action change federal law?
No. State and city actions sit within a separate legal system from federal law. Psilocybin is Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act regardless of what California cities or the legislature do.
Are the listed support resources psilocybin providers?
No. The resources listed are general crisis, peer-support, veteran, and disability services. None are psilocybin providers or have any connection to psychedelic access.
Mental-health and community-support resources
These are general mental-health, crisis, veteran, disability, family, and community-support resources for anyone in or near California. They are not psilocybin providers, psychedelic services, service centers, vendors, access pathways, or endorsements, and listing them is not a statement that psilocybin or microdosing is safe, legal, or effective as a treatment.
If there is immediate danger, a medical emergency, seizure, chest pain, severe confusion, or risk of self-harm or harm to others, contact emergency services (call 911) or call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) immediately.
Crisis and mental-health support
Community & peer support
Scope (National / Statewide / Local) indicates a resource's service area, not endorsement by this site.