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

By The Spore Source · Last checked against the statute: September 25, 2026

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

In this guide

• What New York law says (and doesn’t say)
• Why spores are legal when the mushrooms are not
• Penalties for the mushrooms themselves
• The Ryan case: why New York weighs the psilocybin, not the mushroom
• New York’s two paraphernalia laws
• New York City and other local measures
• The bills in Albany
• Buying spores in New York
• Frequently asked questions
• Sources

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

New York keeps its drug schedules in the Public Health Law, section 3306. Schedule I, subdivision (d), the hallucinogens, lists “(18) Psilocybin” and “(19) Psilocyn,” and its preamble controls “any material, compound, mixture, or preparation, which contains any quantity of” those substances. The Penal Law borrows that list: section 220.00(9) defines a “hallucinogen” as any substance in those paragraphs, which is what makes the weight tiers below apply to psilocybin.

Spores are not mentioned in section 3306, in the definitions in section 3302, in the exemptions in section 3305, or in either paraphernalia law. New York has never written spores, mycelium or mushrooms into its drug statutes.

The same section shows the difference. When the legislature wanted to control a whole organism, it said so: peyote, at paragraph (15), is listed as the plant “whether growing or not, the seeds thereof,” and the Cannabis Law defines cannabis the same way. Psilocybin and psilocyn are listed as chemicals only, and the statute does not mention spores anywhere.

Why spores are legal when the mushrooms are not

A spore contains no psilocybin and no psilocyn. 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, and that the material becomes controlled once it contains psilocybin or psilocin, for example after germination. Our 50-state guide covers the federal position in detail.

New York draws the same line. Section 3302(19) defines “manufacture” as the “production, preparation, propagation, compounding, cultivation, conversion or processing of a controlled substance,” and section 3304 makes manufacturing unlawful. Propagating a controlled substance from a spore is manufacturing; the spore in the syringe is not.

New York’s Penal Law has no general “manufacturing” crime for psilocybin (its only manufacturing offenses are for methamphetamine). A person who germinates spores would instead be charged with what results: possession of the mushrooms, or possession with intent to sell, under the sections below. The Public Health Law’s own penalty for unlawful manufacture, through section 12-b, is up to a year in jail and a $10,000 fine.

Penalties for the mushrooms themselves

• Possession of any amount (Penal Law § 220.03): criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, a Class A misdemeanor, up to 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. Because Schedule I covers material containing “any quantity,” a single mushroom qualifies.
• Possession of 25 milligrams or more of psilocybin (§ 220.09(6)): a Class C felony, up to five and a half years for a first-time drug offender.
• Possession of 125 milligrams or more (§ 220.16(10)): a Class B felony, up to nine years. 625 milligrams or more (§ 220.18(5)): a Class A-II felony, three to ten years.
• Possession with intent to sell, any amount (§ 220.06(1)): a Class D felony; with 25 milligrams or more of psilocybin (§ 220.16(5)), a Class B felony.
• Sale, any amount (§ 220.31): a Class D felony. “Sell” in New York means “to sell, exchange, give or dispose of to another, or to offer or agree to do the same,” so giving mushrooms away counts. Sale of 25 milligrams or more is a Class B felony (§ 220.39(5)); 125 milligrams or more is Class A-II (§ 220.41(5)).

Fines for the felonies run up to $15,000 (Class C), $30,000 (Class B) and $50,000 (Class A-II). Judicial diversion into treatment is available for Class B through E drug felonies under Criminal Procedure Law article 216, and a first-time felony drug offender is eligible for probation instead of prison.

The Ryan case: why New York weighs the psilocybin, not the mushroom

New York is unusual. Most states weigh the whole mushroom. New York’s felony tiers say “said hallucinogen weighs twenty-five milligrams or more,” and the Court of Appeals confirmed in People v. Ryan (1993) that this means the psilocybin itself, not the mushroom it is in. The defendant had received a two-pound package of mushrooms; a 140-gram sample contained 796 milligrams of psilocybin. The court called psilocybin one of the substances “measured by ‘pure’ weight” and reversed the felony count because nothing showed the defendant knew how much psilocybin the mushrooms contained. The legislature later amended the Penal Law (§ 15.20(4)) so that knowledge of the weight is no longer an element, but the pure-weight measure itself still stands.

The opinion never mentions spores; the defendant had mushrooms. For a spore buyer the case matters for one reason: it shows how far New York’s drug law is from anything a spore syringe contains. A spore has no psilocybin to weigh.

New York’s two paraphernalia laws

New York has a criminal paraphernalia statute and a civil one, and neither is written the way most states’ are.

• Penal Law § 220.50 (criminally using drug paraphernalia in the second degree, a Class A misdemeanor) covers diluents, packaging and scales used for “any narcotic drug or stimulant.” Psilocybin is neither a narcotic drug nor a stimulant under the Penal Law’s definitions, and the section says nothing about cultivating, growing, spores or mushrooms. It does not reach a spore syringe at all.
• General Business Law §§ 850–853 is a civil law aimed at sellers. Its definition of paraphernalia includes kits for “planting, propagating, cultivating, growing or harvesting of any species of plant” and kits for “manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, or preparing controlled substances.” Selling or offering such items “under circumstances evincing knowledge” of a drug purpose can bring a civil penalty of $1,000 to $10,000 per violation, an injunction, forfeiture of the stock and loss of a business license. There is no research or education exemption, and the law lists no factors for judging intent.

Two things follow. First, fungi are not plants, so the “species of plant” language does not reach mushroom kits on its face; the manufacturing-kit language is the only route, and no New York court has applied it to mushrooms. Second, the civil law turns on what a seller knows and says. A syringe of spores sold for microscopy, with no cultivation instructions and no cultivation supplies, is a microscopy product. 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.

New York City and other local measures

No New York city, town or county has adopted a psilocybin measure. The City Council resolutions that turn up in searches are about marijuana and overdose-prevention centers, not psilocybin, and a 2023 online petition asking Hudson Valley towns to deprioritize entheogens never came to a vote. New York’s Municipal Home Rule Law allows local laws only when they are “not inconsistent with any general law,” so a local measure could not override the Penal Law in any case.

The bills in Albany

New York has had psilocybin bills in every session since 2019 and has passed none of them. All of the following are in committee as of September 2026.

• A628 (Assemblymember Rosenthal) would legalize adult possession and use of “certain natural plant or fungus-based hallucinogens.” It is the fourth version of the same bill (A10299 in 2019–20, A6065 in 2021–22, A114 in 2023–24) and was referred to the Health Committee on January 7, 2026.
• A3775 / S495 (Burke / Fernandez) would create a medical psilocybin program. Referred to Health and Finance on January 7, 2026.
• A3845A / S1801A (Burke / Fernandez) would fund a psilocybin-assisted therapy pilot program for veterans and first responders. Amended in January 2026.
• A2142A / S5303A (Paulin / Salazar) would authorize psilocybin for qualifying medical conditions. Both were amended and recommitted to Health on May 8, 2026, after the Assembly Health Committee’s September 2025 hearing on psilocybin.

None of these bills mentions spores, and none would change the status of spores, which are already legal. New York has no citizen-initiative route for a statute; the constitution vests legislative power in the Senate and Assembly alone.

Buying spores in New York

• It is legal to buy and own Psilocybe cubensis spores in New York 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 York.
• Use spores for study only. New York’s manufacturing definition turns on propagation, and its civil paraphernalia law turns on what a seller knows and says. Spores for microscopy are a legal hobby; anything that points toward cultivation is where the law starts.

For neighboring states, see our guides to New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Vermont.

Frequently asked questions

Is it legal to buy mushroom spores in New York?

Yes. The Public Health Law schedules psilocybin and psilocyn and says nothing about spores, which contain neither.

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

Yes. There is no New York 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 York?

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

Are psilocybin mushrooms legal in New York?

No. Possession of any amount is a Class A misdemeanor, and possession of 25 milligrams or more of psilocybin, measured as the pure substance, is a felony. Growing them is manufacturing under the Public Health Law.

Are mushroom grow kits legal in New York?

A kit for culinary species is legal. A kit sold for producing a controlled substance can be paraphernalia under General Business Law § 850, a civil offense for the seller. We do not sell cultivation kits or supplies.

Has New York City decriminalized psilocybin?

No. No New York city or county has passed any psilocybin measure.

Did New York legalize psilocybin therapy?

No. Medical, pilot-program and adult-use bills have been introduced every session since 2019 and all remain in committee.

Do you ship spore syringes to New York?

Yes, to every New York address. The only states we exclude are California, Florida, Georgia and Idaho.

Sources

• Public Health Law § 3306 — Schedule I (psilocybin and psilocyn at (d)(18)–(19)), § 3302 — definitions (“manufacture”), § 3304 — unlawful manufacture
• Penal Law § 220.03 — possession, seventh degree, § 220.09, § 220.16, § 220.18, § 220.31, § 220.39 — weight tiers and sale; § 70.70 — sentences for drug felonies
• Penal Law § 220.50 — criminally using drug paraphernalia and General Business Law § 850 (with § 853 — civil penalties)
• People v. Ryan, 82 N.Y.2d 497 (1993)
• A628 (2025–26), A3775, A3845, A2142 — bill histories on nysenate.gov
• CBS New York on the Assembly Health Committee hearing (September 30, 2025)
• DEA letter on the federal status of spores (January 2, 2024, PDF)