Quick answer: Yes. Tennessee lists psilocybin and psilocyn in Schedule I of the Tennessee Drug Control Act (T.C.A. § 39-17-406), each helpfully labeled “constituent of magic mushrooms,” and the words “spore” and “mycelium” appear nowhere in the Act’s schedules, definitions, penalty or paraphernalia sections. Mushroom spores are legal to buy, own and ship in Tennessee for microscopy, taxonomy and educational use.
What is not legal: germinating them. Tennessee defines “manufacture” to include propagation and “production” to include planting, cultivating and growing, so producing psilocybin-containing mycelium or mushrooms is manufacture of a Schedule I substance, a Class B felony carrying eight to thirty years. Tennessee also forbids its cities from softening any of this.
Looking for mushroom spores in Tennessee?
We ship Psilocybe cubensis spore syringes to Tennessee the same business day. Each syringe is a 10 cc syringe. Orders over $100 ship free, and our spore syringe packs save you up to 40%.
Intended use and disclaimer. We sell Psilocybe cubensis spore syringes for microscopy, taxonomy and educational use only, and we ship to Tennessee. This page is general information, not legal advice; only a lawyer licensed in Tennessee can tell you how the law applies to you.
In this guide
- What Tennessee law says (and doesn’t say)
- Why spores are legal when the mushrooms are not
- Penalties for the mushrooms themselves
- The paraphernalia law: § 39-17-425
- Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville: why there is no local decriminalization
- Reform bills and the 2026 HOPE Treatment Act
- Buying spores in Tennessee
- Frequently asked questions
- Sources
What Tennessee law says (and doesn’t say)
Tennessee’s drug law is the Tennessee Drug Control Act, Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 4 of the Tennessee Code. Section 39-17-406 is Schedule I, and subsection (d), the hallucinogens, lists “(32) Psilocybin (constituent of magic mushrooms)” and “(33) Psilocyn (constituent of magic mushrooms).” The subsection controls “any material, compound, mixture, or preparation that contains any quantity” of them.
Tennessee is unusual in naming the mushrooms in the statute at all, and the way it does so is instructive. The legislature described psilocybin as a “constituent of” mushrooms, meaning the chemical inside them, and then scheduled the chemical. It did not schedule the fungus, and it did not schedule the spores. Search the definitions (§ 39-17-402), the penalty sections (§§ 39-17-417 and 39-17-418) and the paraphernalia section (§ 39-17-425) for “spore” or “mycelium” and there is nothing. No Tennessee court decision, Attorney General opinion or reported prosecution has treated spores as a controlled substance.
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 state-by-state guide covers the federal letter in detail.
Tennessee’s definition of “manufacture” (§ 39-17-402) is “the production, preparation, propagation, compounding, conversion or processing of a controlled substance,” and “production” “includes the manufacturing, planting, cultivating, growing or harvesting of a controlled substance.” The line in Tennessee is the same as the federal line: the spore is legal; the germinated material is not.
Penalties for the mushrooms themselves
Tennessee has no weight tiers for psilocybin; the offense is defined by what you did, not how much you had.
- Simple possession or casual exchange (§ 39-17-418): a Class A misdemeanor, up to 11 months and 29 days, a fine of up to $2,500, and a mandatory minimum fine of $750 for a first offense (§ 39-17-428). The old rule that made a third possession conviction a felony now applies only to heroin.
- Manufacture, delivery, sale or possession with intent (§ 39-17-417): for a Schedule I substance, a Class B felony, eight to thirty years, a fine of up to $100,000, and a $2,000 mandatory minimum fine. Because “manufacture” includes propagation, germinating spores is charged here.
- Drug-free zones (§ 39-17-432): since September 1, 2020, a § 39-17-417 offense within 500 feet of a school, child-care center, library, recreation center or park may be punished one class higher, at the judge’s discretion.
In State v. Peters, a defendant who sold 6.22 grams of mushrooms near a school received a fifteen-year sentence, to be served in full under the law then in force. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the sentence in 2015.
The paraphernalia law: § 39-17-425
Section 39-17-425 is the Tennessee provision that matters most to a spore buyer, because it turns on intended use.
- The definition (§ 39-17-402(12)) covers equipment “used, intended for use, or designed for use in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing, harvesting…” a controlled substance.
- Use or possession with intent to use paraphernalia “to plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest…” a controlled substance is a Class A misdemeanor, with a $150 mandatory minimum fine.
- Delivering paraphernalia, or possessing it with intent to deliver, knowing or having reason to know it will be used that way, is a Class E felony, one to six years. Advertising paraphernalia is a Class A misdemeanor.
Notice that every one of these turns on cultivation or drug use. 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.
Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville: why there is no local decriminalization
No Tennessee city or county has decriminalized psilocybin, and under state law none can. Since April 12, 2017, § 39-17-401(b) has declared that “the state preempts the entire field of determining the appropriate sanction for conduct involving a drug,” and it strips cities and counties of any authority to adopt a lighter penalty by ordinance, resolution or police policy. The law was passed to nullify Nashville’s and Memphis’s 2016 marijuana ordinances, and it applies equally to psilocybin. A 2021 petition in Memphis asking the council to decriminalize psilocybin went nowhere.
None of this affects spores, which are legal statewide without any local measure.
Reform bills and the 2026 HOPE Treatment Act
We found no psilocybin bill introduced in Tennessee in the 2023, 2024, 2025 or 2026 sessions. The only psychedelic-related law Tennessee has passed is the HOPE Treatment Act (HB 2075 / SB 2149, enacted in May 2026), which encourages Tennessee research institutions to take part in federally authorized clinical trials of ibogaine, a different drug. The Act does not mention psilocybin, does not change Schedule I, and says nothing about spores.
Tennessee has no citizen-initiative process; constitutional amendments can only be proposed by the legislature. There is no path to a psilocybin ballot measure.
Buying spores in Tennessee
- It is legal to buy and own Psilocybe cubensis spores in Tennessee for microscopy, taxonomy and educational use.
- Ordering online is legal. Federal mail rules bar controlled substances and paraphernalia; spores are neither. We ship to Tennessee.
- Use spores for study only. Tennessee’s paraphernalia statute is intent-based and its manufacturing statute carries eight to thirty years. Spores for microscopy are a legal hobby; anything that points toward cultivation is where the law starts.
For neighboring states, see our guides to Virginia, Missouri, Kentucky, Arkansas and Mississippi.
Frequently asked questions
Is it legal to buy mushroom spores in Tennessee?
Yes. Section 39-17-406 schedules psilocybin and psilocyn, the chemicals, and says nothing about spores, which contain neither.
Is it legal to order mushroom spores online in Tennessee?
Yes. There is no Tennessee or federal law against mailing spores; the mail rules cover controlled substances and paraphernalia, and spores are neither.
Are Psilocybe cubensis spores legal in Tennessee?
Yes. The species does not change the analysis; no Psilocybe spore contains a Schedule I substance.
Are psilocybin mushrooms legal in Tennessee?
No. Simple possession is a Class A misdemeanor, and growing, selling or delivering them is a Class B felony carrying eight to thirty years.
The statute says “magic mushrooms.” Doesn’t that make spores illegal?
No. The statute names psilocybin as a “constituent of” magic mushrooms and schedules the constituent, the chemical. Spores contain none of it.
Are mushroom grow kits legal in Tennessee?
A kit for culinary species is legal. Equipment intended for cultivating a controlled substance is paraphernalia under § 39-17-425, and it is also paraphernalia under federal law. We do not sell cultivation kits or supplies.
Has Nashville or Memphis decriminalized psilocybin?
No, and state law forbids them from doing so.
Do you ship spore syringes to Tennessee?
Yes, to every Tennessee address. The only states we exclude are California, Florida, Georgia and Idaho.
Sources
- T.C.A. § 39-17-406 — Schedule I (psilocybin and psilocyn at (d)(32)–(33))
- § 39-17-402 — definitions of “manufacture,” “production” and “drug paraphernalia”
- § 39-17-418 — simple possession, § 39-17-417 — manufacture, delivery and sale, § 39-17-425 — paraphernalia, § 39-17-428 — mandatory minimum fines, § 39-17-432 — drug-free zones
- § 39-17-401(b) — state preemption of local drug penalties; § 40-35-111 — sentence ranges by class
- State v. Jordan Thomas Peters, Tenn. Crim. App. (November 5, 2015)
- HB 2075 / SB 2149 (2026) — HOPE Treatment Act bill history
- Memphis Flyer on the 2021 petition (January 29, 2021)
- DEA letter on the federal status of spores (January 2, 2024, PDF)
Spore syringes shipped to Tennessee
Our Psilocybe cubensis spore syringes are 10 cc syringes filled in our ISO-7 cleanroom. Orders placed by 1 p.m. Eastern on a weekday ship the same day. You get free shipping on orders over $100, up to 40% off with our 3-, 5- and 10-packs, and a 30-day warranty. They are sold for microscopy and taxonomy use only.
