ARE MAGIC MUSHROOMS LEGAL IN SOUTH AFRICA?
The legality of psychedelic mushrooms – commonly known as magic mushrooms – has been a hotly debated topic for a long time. Under the South African law, any type of mushroom containing the substance Psilocybin/Psilocin is illegal to own, grow or consume.
Psilocybin and Psilocin is still illegal in South Africa, but not the fungal species themselves. Mushroom spores and grow kits are legal and are sold openly in stores and on the internet, the spores and kits themselves don’t contain Psilocybin/psilocin. However, the personal possession and use of magic mushrooms is criminalized. Cultivation is illegal and selling, offering or providing access to the mushrooms is also illegal.
Schedule 2 Part III of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act 140 of 1992 includes psilocin and psilocybin under “Undesirable Dependence-Producing Substances. Section 3 of this Act provides that “No person shall manufacture any” of these substances ‘or supply it to any other person, knowing or suspecting that any such substance is to be used in or for the unlawful manufacture of any drug.” Section 4(b) provides that “No person shall use or have in his possession (any undesirable dependence-producing substance).
Of course, there are other places in the world where the use of magic mushrooms is not a crime. For instance, in Brazil, magic mushrooms are legal, albeit it is not legal to extract the active components, such as Psilocybin/Psilocin or other substances that trigger psychedelic effects.
Fortunately for the mushroom fans in South Africa, things are changing. More and more governments are opting to decriminalise the medical use and sale of psilocybin.
The movement to decriminalize psilocybin in the United States began in the late 2010s, with Denver, Colorado becoming the first city to decriminalize psilocybin in May 2019. The cities of Oakland and Santa Cruz, California, followed suit and decriminalized psilocybin in June 2019 and January 2020, respectively. Washington, D.C. followed suit in November 2020, as did Somerville, Massachusetts in January 2021, and then neighbouring Bay State towns Cambridge and Northampton in February 2021 and March 2021, respectively. Seattle, Washington became the largest U.S. city in the growing list in October 2021.
Supporters of the movement have cited emerging research that indicates potential medical uses for the drug. Oregon voters passed the 2020 Oregon Ballot Measure 109, making it the first state to both decriminalize psilocybin and also legalize it for therapeutic use. The use, sale, and possession of psilocybin in the United States, despite state laws, is illegal under federal law.