Magic mushrooms are not legal in Washington state. Psilocybin and psilocin, the active compounds in the mushrooms, are Schedule I controlled substances under both Washington and federal law, which makes it a crime to possess, grow, or sell them anywhere in the state.1Washington State Legislature. RCW 69.50.204 – Schedule I2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 21 USC 812 – Schedules of Controlled Substances Several cities have told their police to make personal-use enforcement their lowest priority, and a small clinical program at the University of Washington offers psilocybin therapy to veterans and first responders, but neither of those changes the underlying law.
What You Can Be Charged With
Simple possession of psilocybin without a valid prescription is a gross misdemeanor. The maximum penalty is 180 days in jail, a $1,000 fine, or both. If you already have two or more possession convictions dated after July 1, 2023, the ceiling rises to 364 days.3Washington State Legislature. RCW 69.50.4013 – Possession, Use of Controlled Substance – Penalty The statute encourages officers to refer people to assessment and treatment, and prosecutors to divert cases toward services rather than jail. A misdemeanor conviction still lands on your record, though, and can follow you into employment, housing, and licensing decisions.
Growing mushrooms or selling them is a different category of offense. Manufacturing, delivering, or possessing psilocybin with intent to deliver is a Class C felony carrying up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.4Washington State Legislature. RCW 69.50.401 – Prohibited Acts A – Penalties Whether a case gets charged as possession or as intent to deliver turns on quantity, packaging, scales, cash, and similar circumstances — a prosecutor’s judgment call.
What Local Decriminalization Actually Means
As of early 2026, Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Port Townsend, and Jefferson County have all passed measures telling local law enforcement to treat adult personal use of psilocybin as their lowest priority. King County introduced a similar motion in January 2026 covering adults 21 and older engaged in personal, noncommercial entheogen activity.5King County. Legislation Details (With Text) – 2026-0017
Decriminalization is not legalization. These resolutions are policy directives to local police and prosecutors; they do not change state or federal law. A county prosecutor is not bound by a city council’s resolution, and federal agents are not bound by any of them. Every one of these local measures also carves out commercial sales, activity near schools, and driving under the influence. If you are in Seattle with a small amount for personal use, arrest is unlikely, but it is not impossible, and the substance itself is still illegal.
Legal Therapeutic Access
There is one lawful route to psilocybin in Washington, and it is narrow. Under RCW 19.410.010, the University of Washington’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences runs a pilot program offering psilocybin therapy, through FDA-approved pathways, to first responders and veterans aged 21 and older who have PTSD, a mood disorder, or a substance use disorder. The program had to be operational by January 1, 2025, and it sunsets on June 30, 2027.6Washington State Legislature. RCW 19.410.010 – Pilot Program
This is a clinical program for specific populations with specific diagnoses. It is not a route for the general public, and it does not authorize any provider outside of it to offer psilocybin services.
Spores Are a Gray Area
Washington’s schedule targets psilocybin and psilocin as chemical compounds, not the mushroom species that produce them.1Washington State Legislature. RCW 69.50.204 – Schedule I Mushroom spores themselves contain neither compound, so material that is only spores is not a controlled substance under Washington law. Once spores germinate and start producing psilocybin, the material becomes controlled.
Buying spores is not a safe harbor for cultivation. If police find spores alongside substrate, growing equipment, or partially developed mushrooms, expect a manufacturing investigation regardless of how the spores were marketed at purchase.
Traveling With Psilocybin
Local decriminalization gives you no protection at an airport or on the highway. TSA screening is aimed at security threats rather than drugs, but officers are required to refer any suspected illegal substance they find to law enforcement.7Transportation Security Administration. Complete List (Alphabetical) Once that referral happens, whether you started your trip in a decriminalized city does not matter, and moving a controlled substance across state lines is a separate federal offense.
The same logic applies on the ground. Driving mushrooms between two Washington cities that have both passed lowest-priority resolutions still means possessing a controlled substance under state law for the entire drive. A local resolution covers activity in that jurisdiction; it does not travel with you.
What Could Change: SB 5201
Senate Bill 5201, introduced in the 2025 legislative session, would build a full regulatory framework for legal adult access to psychedelic substances and would amend the state’s definition of “controlled substance” to exclude psychedelics used within that framework.8Washington State Legislature. Senate Bill 5201 – 2025-26 As of early 2026, the bill sits in the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee after being reintroduced for the current session and has not received a floor vote.9Washington State Legislature. SB 5201 – 2025-26 Passage is not guaranteed, but it is the clearest legislative path to broader legal access.
Religious Use
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act allows an organization to petition the DEA for an exemption from the Controlled Substances Act for religious use of a scheduled substance. The petition must document the religion’s history, its beliefs, the specific substance, and the amounts and conditions of anticipated use, and it must show that enforcement places a substantial burden on sincere religious exercise. No one may use the substance until the exemption is granted and a DEA registration is issued.10Drug Enforcement Administration Diversion Control Division. Guidance Regarding Petitions for Religious Exemption from the Controlled Substances Act Pursuant to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act These exemptions are granted rarely, and a personal spiritual connection to psilocybin is not itself a defense to a criminal charge.