Are Magic Mushrooms Legal in the Netherlands?

The short answer: no, mushrooms have been banned since 2008

On 1 December 2008, hallucinogenic mushrooms were added to Schedule II of the Opium Act. The Decree (Staatsblad 2008, 486) placed two categories on the schedule: mushrooms that naturally contain psilocybin or psilocin, and mushrooms that contain muscimol and ibotenic acid. Roughly 188 species were banned in a single stroke. Both processed and unprocessed forms are covered.

That is the legal answer. The practical answer is more complicated. But start here: it is illegal.

What does the law actually say?

Magic mushrooms sit on Schedule II, the same category as cannabis. That makes them soft drugs in the eyes of the law. The distinction from hard drugs on Schedule I (heroin, cocaine, MDMA) matters for sentencing, but possession remains a criminal offence.

The Opium Act makes no distinction between fresh and dried. A handful of fresh mushrooms picked in the woods falls under the same prohibition as a bag of dried specimens from an online shop.

All mushrooms that naturally contain psilocybin or psilocin are covered by the ban. The entire genus Psilocybe, plus species from other genera such as Panaeolus cyanescens and Gymnopilus. The law targets the presence of the active substances, not individual species names. In addition, mushrooms containing muscimol and ibotenic acid fall under the ban. The fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) too, then, though in practice it is rarely enforced.

The Public Prosecution Service's Sentencing Guidelines for soft drugs (Richtlijn 2023R003) provide a framework. For possession of a user quantity (up to 0.5 grams dried or 5 grams fresh), prosecution does not follow in practice. The police may confiscate the substance. No fine, no criminal record. Usually.

But that is policy, not law. The Public Prosecution Service retains discretionary authority. "Not being prosecuted" is a different statement from "it is permitted." A subtle distinction that matters quite a lot when you run into it.

For larger quantities or for production and trade, the penalties under Article 3 of the Opium Act apply: a maximum of 2 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to EUR 22,500. For commercial operations, that can rise to 6 years.

How the mushroom ban came about

Before December 2008, fresh magic mushrooms were openly sold in smartshops across the Netherlands. Amsterdam had dozens. Tourists could buy fresh psilocybin mushrooms without any restriction, take them back to their hostel, and use them. It was one of the most visible aspects of Dutch tolerance policy on drugs.

Smartshop owners I've spoken with since described those years as freedom with an undercurrent of unease. Everyone knew it could change. They knew it most of all.

In March 2007, 17-year-old French national Gaelle Caroff fell from the NEMO building in Amsterdam. Mushroom use was suspected, but the causal link was never definitively established. She had a psychiatric history. In the same period, media reported on multiple incidents involving tourists and magic mushrooms.

Minister Ab Klink (Health) and Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin (Justice) decided to push the ban through. In parliament, Labour MP Lea Bouwmeester raised questions about the factual basis. A fact-check study concluded that some incidents attributed to mushrooms were unproven (Parliamentary document 31 447, no. 3).

It is a contradiction you can hold without resolving. The ban was politically predictable. The scientific basis was debatable. Both things are true.

Parliament voted in favour of the proposal. The ban was challenged by, among others, the Legalize! Foundation, but the court ruled that the mushroom ban was lawful. A legitimate exercise of regulatory authority to protect public health.

Grey areas: what is allowed?

This is where the most confusion sits. Rightly so.

Growkits are available for purchase in the Netherlands, online and in some smartshops. That seems contradictory given a mushroom ban. The reasoning: the substrate and mycelium in a growkit contain no measurable quantities of psilocybin at the point of sale. They are therefore not a Schedule II substance. The moment the kit produces fruiting bodies, the Opium Act applies.

There is no Supreme Court ruling that explicitly confirms or prohibits the sale of growkits. The situation persists because the Public Prosecution Service focuses on production and trade of the actual mushrooms, not on the sale of cultivation material. Tolerated. Not legalised. The difference is not academic if the prosecution service changes course.

Spore syringes are legal to buy and ship. The reason is pharmacological: spores contain no psilocybin or psilocin. Gotvaldova et al. (2021) analysed basidiospores, mycelium, and fruiting bodies of Psilocybe cubensis and found no tryptamines in the spores. Psilocybin biosynthesis occurs only in the mycelium and fruiting bodies (DOI: 10.1002/dta.2950). Buying them is legal. The purpose for which you buy them (cultivating fruiting bodies) becomes criminal once those fruiting bodies appear. The syringe is legal. What grows from it is not.

Ordering online from a foreign supplier changes nothing about the legal situation. Upon import, the Opium Act applies. Customs can intercept packages and possession upon receipt is a criminal offence.

And growing for personal use? Criminal. There is no tolerance policy for cultivating psilocybin-containing mushrooms, not even for personal use. The distinction from cannabis (where small-scale home cultivation is tolerated under certain conditions) is relevant here: for mushrooms, no such exception exists. In practice, enforcement focuses on larger operations. The chance of being caught for home cultivation is small. But "small risk of enforcement" is a different statement from "it is allowed."

The legal alternative: truffles

Truffles (sclerotia) contain the same active substances as magic mushrooms, psilocybin and psilocin, but fall under the Commodities Act (Warenwet) instead of the Opium Act. They are legally available in smartshops and are treated as a food product.

How that is legally possible when the molecules are identical is a story in itself. The full overview is in the difference between truffles and mushrooms under Dutch law (/articles/verschil-truffels-paddos-wet/).

Enforcement in practice

For a user quantity (up to 0.5 grams dried, 5 grams fresh), prosecution does not follow according to the Opium Act Directive (Aanwijzing 2015A003). The police confiscate the substance. No fine, no criminal record. That is the guideline. Enforcement focuses on production and trade, not on individual possession for personal use.

The distinction between possession and dealing matters. Possession of a small quantity rarely leads to prosecution. Possession of larger quantities is treated as an indication of dealing and is actively prosecuted. Where exactly the line falls depends on the circumstances. Packaging materials, scales, or large sums of cash quickly elevate a case from "possession" to "dealing."

The future: will the law change?

The Staatscommissie MDMA (State Commission on MDMA), chaired by Brigit Toebes, published its report "MDMA: Voorbij de extase" (Beyond the Ecstasy) in June 2024. On psilocybin, the commission wrote that it is currently not possible to deploy psilocybin-containing truffles in clinical treatment of psychiatric conditions. More research is needed into long-term safety. The Ministry of Health and ZonMw have allocated EUR 2.6 million for psychedelics research. Cautious. But it is moving.

In Belgium, psilocybin mushrooms are prohibited under Article 2bis of the Belgian Narcotics Law (Royal Decree of 22 January 1998), with penalties of 3 months to 5 years' imprisonment and fines from EUR 8,000 to EUR 800,000. In Germany, they fall under the Narcotics Act (Betaeubungsmittelgesetz). But Germany launched the first compassionate use programme for psilocybin in the EU in 2025: the Zentralinstitut fuer Seelische Gesundheit in Mannheim and the OVID Clinic in Berlin are treating patients with treatment-resistant conditions using botanical psilocybin.

The Netherlands, the country that once led the way in pragmatic drug policy, is now watching its neighbours experiment.

Safe use: banned does not mean unused

Just over 5% of Dutch adults have ever used magic mushrooms or truffles. Roughly 1% did so in the past year (Nationale Drug Monitor, Trimbos Institute). The ban has not eliminated use.

That is not an argument for or against the ban. It is a fact.

If, despite the illegality, you use or are considering using magic mushrooms: test your substance. The DIMS drug testing service (available through municipal health services, Jellinek, and Trimbos) tests anonymously and free of charge. There are no legal consequences for having your substance tested.

Know your contraindications. Do not use psilocybin during pregnancy, with psychiatric vulnerability (especially susceptibility to psychosis), or in combination with SSRIs, SNRIs, or MAO inhibitors. Consult a physician.

Read up on set and setting. The circumstances under which you enter a psychedelic experience determine much of how it unfolds. Tips for during a psychedelic trip (/articles/tips-psychedelische-trip/).

Know where to turn: 112 (emergency), 113 Suicide Prevention (0900-0113), 0900-1995 Drugs Infolijn (Trimbos Institute), Jellinek information line, your local after-hours GP clinic. Independent information is available at Jellinek (jellinek.nl) and the Trimbos Institute (trimbos.nl).

The law is clear. Enforcement isn't. Between those two, you draw your own line.

Sources

1. Staatsblad 2008, 486 — Opium Act amendment (mushroom ban), zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl/stb-2008-486.html

2. Parliamentary document 31 447, no. 3 — Parliamentary dossier mushroom ban, tweedekamer.nl

3. Opium Act Directive (Aanwijzing 2015A003), om.nl

4. Sentencing Guidelines soft drugs (Richtlijn 2023R003), om.nl

5. Gotvaldova K. et al. (2021). Drug Testing and Analysis, 13:439-446. DOI:10.1002/dta.2950

6. Staatscommissie MDMA (Toebes, 2024). MDMA: Voorbij de extase. rijksoverheid.nl

7. Nationale Drug Monitor, Trimbos Institute: drugsinfo.nl

8. Belgian Narcotics Law, Royal Decree of 22 January 1998, Article 2bis (Belgium — psilocybin mushroom penalties)

9. Jellinek: jellinek.nl/vraag-antwoord/truffels-en-paddos-en-de-wet/

10. DRUGSinfo.nl (Trimbos): drugsinfo.nl/paddos/zijn-paddos-verboden