Is Psilocybin legal in Samoa?

Legal status

Psilocybin is controlled under the Narcotics Act 1967, the official version as at 31 December 2023, under the spelling used in the Schedule rather than the more common modern spelling. First Schedule item 35, Class A narcotics, names "PSILOCYBINE (3-(2-dimethylaminoethyl) indol-4-yl dihydrogen phosphate)" directly. Psilocin, the dephosphorylated metabolite into which psilocybin converts in the body and a chemically distinct substance, is separately named at items 33 and 34, printed as "PSILOCINE" and "PSILOTSIN" respectively, both given the identical chemical description "3-(2-dimethylaminoethyl)-4-hydroxyindole" in the cached text. Section 2's "prohibited plant" definition also names, at paragraph (e), "a fungus of the genera conocybe, panaeolus or psilocybe from which a narcotic can be produced or which contains a narcotic", so a living psilocybin producing mushroom of one of those three genera is independently reached as a prohibited plant, in addition to the isolated chemical's First Schedule listing.

Consequences if caught

As a Class A narcotic, dealing in, possessing, selling, supplying or using psilocybin carries imprisonment for life under section 18, with the same exposure for import or export under section 17 and for unlawful manufacture under section 18A; section 18's proviso reduces a non-wilful or procedural contravention to a fine of up to 5 penalty units or imprisonment of up to 2 years, or both. Cultivating a psilocybin containing fungus of the genus conocybe, panaeolus or psilocybe, or possessing its spores as seed, is instead an offence under section 6 as a prohibited plant, carrying imprisonment of up to 14 years, or, if the Court finds the offence was not wilful, a fine of up to 20 penalty units or imprisonment of up to 2 years or both under section 6(2), a lower band than the Class A exposure for the isolated chemical.

If prescribed or medical

Section 6(3)(a) provides a defence to the cultivation offence where the defendant cultivated the fungus or possessed its spores under the conditions of a licence granted by the Chief Executive Officer. Section 7(2)(c) separately exempts a person from the general possession and use prohibition where the narcotic was supplied, or prescribed, by a licensee authorised under section 11 to supply or prescribe narcotics. No Pharmacy Act 2007 approval naming psilocybin or psilocybine was located in the sources searched.

Documentation

The Narcotics Act 1967 (1967 No. 3), the official version as at 31 December 2023, is the authority for the position stated. Whether a later Gazette amendment or a Head of State Order under section 5 of the Act has varied it since that date could not be established from the sources searched this session, so the position given is as at the version read and is not asserted as current beyond it. Section 10(1) separately prohibits importing or exporting any prohibited plant, including a psilocybin containing fungus of the named genera, into or from Samoa outright; import or export of the isolated psilocybine chemical as a First Schedule narcotic otherwise requires a licence granted by the Chief Executive Officer under sections 10(2) and 11. No Samoa specific traveller documentation requirement beyond this was located in the sources searched.

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