Are Mushroom Spores Legal in New Mexico? Yes — Here’s the Statute (2026)

By The Spore Source · Last checked against the statute: September 26, 2026

Intended use and disclaimer. We sell Psilocybe cubensis spore syringes for microscopy, taxonomy and educational use only, and we ship to New Mexico. This page is general information, not legal advice; only a lawyer licensed in New Mexico can tell you how the law applies to you.

In this guide

• What New Mexico law says (and doesn’t say)
• Why spores are legal when the mushrooms are not
• The Medical Psilocybin Act: what the state program covers
• State v. Pratt: is growing mushrooms “manufacture”?
• Penalties for the mushrooms themselves
• The paraphernalia law: NMSA 30-31-25.1
• Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces: any local decriminalization?
• The program timeline as of September 2026
• Buying spores in New Mexico
• Frequently asked questions
• Sources

What New Mexico law says (and doesn’t say)

New Mexico’s Schedule I is in section 30-31-6 of the Controlled Substances Act. Subsection C covers “any material, compound, mixture or preparation that contains any quantity” of the listed hallucinogens, and it lists “(14) psilocybin” and “(15) psilocin,” each “except as provided otherwise in the Controlled Substances Act and the Medical Psilocybin Act.” A 2025 amendment added subsection E, which says the listing of psilocybin and psilocin “does not apply to their medical use as provided in the Medical Psilocybin Act.”

That is where the mushroom compounds live in New Mexico law. Section 30-31-6 does not mention spores or mushrooms, and the definitions in section 30-31-2 do not mention spores, mycelium, mushrooms or fungi. The Medical Psilocybin Act itself defines psilocybin as the naturally occurring compound “found in certain mushrooms,” and it does not mention spores either.

Why spores are legal when the mushrooms are not

A spore contains no psilocybin and no psilocin. Schedule I reaches material that “contains any quantity” of a listed substance; a spore contains none, so it is not a Schedule I material. The federal government reached the same conclusion: on January 2, 2024, the DEA’s Drug & Chemical Evaluation Section confirmed in writing that mushroom spores that do not contain psilocybin or psilocin are not controlled. The letter also said that “if at any time the material contains a controlled substance such as psilocybin or psilocin (for example, upon germination), the material would be considered a controlled substance under the CSA.” Our state-by-state guide covers the federal letter in detail.

The line in New Mexico is the same as the federal line: the spore is legal, and the germinated material is not. New Mexico’s definition of “manufacture” is unusual, though, and that led to an important court case, explained below.

The Medical Psilocybin Act: what the state program covers

Senate Bill 219, the Medical Psilocybin Act, was signed by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham in April 2025 and took effect on June 20, 2025. It is codified at NMSA 26-2D-1 to 26-2D-11, and the Department of Health runs it with help from a Medical Psilocybin Advisory Board.

• Who qualifies: patients with “major treatment-resistant depression; posttraumatic stress disorder; substance use disorders; end-of-life care; and other conditions approved by the department.”
• Who grows the psilocybin: a “producer,” meaning a person with the department’s permission to “grow and harvest or prepare psilocybin from psilocybin-producing mushrooms.” The department sets the producer requirements by rule.
• The legal protection: “A producer, clinician or qualified patient shall not be subject to arrest, prosecution or penalty for participating in the program.”
• Funding: the Act also creates a research fund and a treatment equity fund to help patients afford treatment.

The program does not cover anyone outside it. The Act has no home-grow provision, and its protection applies only to producers, clinicians and qualified patients who are participating in the program. For everyone else, psilocybin and psilocin are still Schedule I substances. Growing psilocybin mushrooms at home means possessing a Schedule I substance, which is still a crime.

The program also does not change anything about spores, because spores were never controlled in the first place. You do not need a permit to buy or own spores for microscopy, and a producer permit is for a regulated business, not a route to growing at home.

State v. Pratt: is growing mushrooms “manufacture”?

New Mexico defines “manufacture” in section 30-31-2 as “the production, preparation, compounding, conversion or processing of a controlled substance… by extraction from substances of natural origin or independently by means of chemical synthesis.” Unlike the federal definition and the laws of states such as Oregon, it does not mention propagation, planting, cultivating or growing.

In State v. Pratt, 2005-NMCA-099, decided June 14, 2005, the defendant had been convicted of trafficking psilocybin mushrooms by manufacture under section 30-31-20(A)(1) for growing them. The Court of Appeals reversed. It held that growing mushrooms, even with artificial equipment, is not “manufacture” under New Mexico’s definition, because the definition requires extraction or chemical synthesis. The definition quoted above is still the law today.

Pratt did not make growing legal. The mushrooms themselves are still Schedule I, so possessing them is still a crime, and possessing them with intent to distribute is a felony. The case only decided which statute applies.

Penalties for the mushrooms themselves

Psilocybin is a non-narcotic Schedule I substance, so the general tiers apply.

• Possession (NMSA 30-31-23(D)): a misdemeanor for any amount, punished by a fine of $500 to $1,000, imprisonment for a definite term of less than one year, or both. The subsection does not raise the penalty for repeat offenses.
• Distribution or possession with intent to distribute (NMSA 30-31-22(A)(2)): a third-degree felony for a first offense and a second-degree felony for a second or later offense.
• Growing: after Pratt, growing alone is not “manufacture,” but the grown mushrooms are Schedule I, so the possession and distribution sections above apply to them.

The paraphernalia law: NMSA 30-31-25.1

Section 30-31-25.1 is the New Mexico provision that matters most to a spore buyer, because it turns on intended use.

• The definition in section 30-31-2 includes “kits used, intended for use or designed for use in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing or harvesting any species of plant that is a controlled substance… or from which a controlled substance can be derived.”
• Using or possessing paraphernalia with intent to use it to “plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest” or otherwise produce or use a controlled substance brings a penalty assessment and a $50 fine. The Legislature reduced this offense to a penalty assessment in 2019.
• Delivering paraphernalia, or possessing or manufacturing it with intent to deliver, “with knowledge, or under circumstances where one reasonably should know” that it will be used with a controlled substance, is a misdemeanor. An adult who delivers it to a person under 18 who is at least three years younger commits a fourth-degree felony.
• How courts decide: the definition lists factors, including “statements by the owner or by anyone in control of the object concerning its use,” instructions, descriptive materials, and the manner in which the object is displayed for sale.

A spore syringe bought for study is not paraphernalia; the same syringe next to cultivation equipment, with a stated plan to use it that way, can be. This is why we sell spores for microscopy only, do not provide cultivation instructions, and cancel orders from customers who tell us they intend to cultivate.

Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces: any local decriminalization?

We could not find any New Mexico city or county that has passed a psilocybin decriminalization or deprioritization measure, and the national trackers we checked list none. New Mexico’s reform came from the Legislature instead, through the Medical Psilocybin Act. It would not matter for spores if a city had acted, because spores are already legal statewide. For the law in neighboring Colorado, see our Colorado guide.

The program timeline as of September 2026

The Act requires the Department of Health to implement the program “by December 31, 2027.” The department has said it wants to move faster, and its stated goal is to open the program to patients by the end of 2026.

• June 20, 2025: the Act took effect.
• August 2026: the department began accepting permit applications from psilocybin producers.
• End of 2026: the department’s target for treating the first patients, ahead of the December 31, 2027 legal deadline.

None of this affects spores, and none of it allows personal cultivation.

Buying spores in New Mexico

• It is legal to buy and own Psilocybe cubensis spores in New Mexico for microscopy, taxonomy and educational use.
• Ordering online is legal. Federal mail rules bar controlled substances and paraphernalia; spores are neither. We ship to New Mexico.
• Use spores for study only. The medical program is limited to state-permitted producers, clinicians and qualified patients, and the paraphernalia statute is intent-based. Spores for microscopy are a legal hobby; anything that points toward cultivation is where the law starts.

For a neighboring state, see our guide to Utah.

Frequently asked questions

Are mushroom spores legal in New Mexico?

Yes. New Mexico’s Schedule I lists psilocybin and psilocin and says nothing about spores, which contain neither.

Is it legal to buy mushroom spores in New Mexico?

Yes. You can legally buy and own mushroom spores in New Mexico for microscopy, taxonomy and educational use.

Is it legal to order mushroom spores online in New Mexico?

Yes. There is no New Mexico or federal law against mailing spores. The mail rules cover controlled substances and paraphernalia, and spores are neither.

Are Psilocybe cubensis spores legal in New Mexico?

Yes. The species does not change the analysis, because no Psilocybe spore contains a Schedule I substance.

Are psilocybin mushrooms legal in New Mexico?

Psilocybin will be legal only inside the medical program, which is not yet open to patients. Outside the program, possessing psilocybin is a misdemeanor, and possessing it with intent to distribute is a felony.

Can I grow psilocybin mushrooms at home under the Medical Psilocybin Act?

No. The Act has no home-grow provision. Only producers with the Department of Health’s permission may grow psilocybin for the program.

Are mushroom grow kits legal in New Mexico?

A kit for culinary species is legal. A kit for growing a controlled substance is paraphernalia under New Mexico law, and it is also paraphernalia under federal law. We do not sell cultivation kits or supplies.

Do you ship spore syringes to New Mexico?

Yes, to every New Mexico address. The only states we exclude are California, Florida, Georgia and Idaho. If you live nearby, see our guides for Arizona, Texas and Oklahoma.

Sources

• SB 219 (2025), the Medical Psilocybin Act, final version (PDF), including the amendment to NMSA 30-31-6
• NMSA 30-31-6 — Schedule I and NMSA 30-31-2 — definitions of “manufacture” and “drug paraphernalia”
• NMSA 30-31-23 — possession, 30-31-22 — distribution and 30-31-25.1 — drug paraphernalia
• State v. Pratt, 2005-NMCA-099
• Fiscal impact report on SB 323 (2019), the paraphernalia penalty change (PDF)
• New Mexico Department of Health: Medical Psilocybin Program
• Source New Mexico, August 27, 2026, on producer permit applications
• DEA letter on the federal status of spores (January 2, 2024, PDF)