Is Amanita muscaria legal in Netherlands?

Also known as: fly agaric

Legal status

Controlled as a soft drug. Amanita muscaria is named in lijst II of the Opiumwet and not in lijst I, and the row prints «amanita muscaria muscaria | vliegenzwam». That places it under article 3 and article 11 rather than article 2 and article 10, which is a materially lower tier.

Consequences if caught

The entry sits under the heading Paddo's, division B, paddenstoelen die van nature muscimol en iboteenzuur bevatten. The printed name is the variety amanita muscaria muscaria with the Dutch vliegenzwam beside it, and amanita pantherina is a separate row. Whether the species is reached beyond the named variety is a question the printed text does not answer. Use is not itself made an offence by the Opiumwet, which is why the Dutch position is often misread: article 2 and article 3 reach import, export, cultivation, preparation, sale, supply, transport, manufacture and presence, and presence is what a traveller carrying the substance has. Article 1, second limb, equates the salts of a substance with the substance itself. Article 11 carries the penalties for lijst II. Acting intentionally against article 3 under B, C or D carries imprisonment of up to 2 years, and up to 6 years where the person acts in the exercise of a profession or business. Intentionally bringing it into or out of the territory, article 3 under A, carries up to 4 years. Where the offence concerns a large quantity the two year and the four year cases both rise to 6 years. Article 1 of the Opiumwetbesluit fixes that large quantity at 500 gram hennep, 200 hennepplanten or 500 units of another lijst II substance. The fine is the fifth category, printed at 67.000 euro with an editorial note recording 110.000 euro from 1 January 2026. They describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play. Article 11, seventh limb, disapplies the two year and four year cases to a small quantity intended for own use of a lijst II substance, with hennep and hasjiesj expressly withheld from that relief. The live cell recorded that division B of the Paddo's heading has named this variety since 1 December 2008. That date is carried forward from it and not verified here.

If prescribed or medical

Bijlage 1 to the Opiumwetbesluit admits the lijst II substances as a class, with hasjiesj excepted, so article 2 of that decree leaves a lawful prescription route open where an authorised medicinal product exists. Carry it in its original packaging with the prescription. For Schengen travel the route is the article 75 certificate issued via the CAK, valid 30 days and covering up to 4 Schengen countries, with a legalised medical certificate valid 1 year beyond Schengen.

Documentation

The printed lijst II entry is the variety amanita muscaria muscaria, with amanita pantherina on its own row, under the heading for fungi that naturally contain muscimol en iboteenzuur. Sclerotia that contain psilocybine are a different question governed by division A of the same heading and by the lijst I alkaloid entries. Article 3 under A prohibits bringing a lijst II substance into or out of the territory.

Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Netherlands’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.