Is Psilocybin legal in Taiwan?

Legal status

Controlled under Taiwan's Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例) across more than one grade, at 附表二第147項「西洛西賓（Psilocybine）」 and 附表三第322項「羥基-N,N-二甲基色胺（Hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine、Bufotenine、HO-DMT）【包含其異構物 5-HO-DMT、4-Hydroxy、6-Hydroxy、7-Hydroxy】」. The two alkaloids of the same mushroom are graded one tier apart. Psilocybin is Category 2 by name. Psilocin, its active metabolite, has no entry of its own and is caught as the 4-Hydroxy isomer inside the Category 3 bufotenine entry. The controlled drugs list records the move expressly, its item 146 reading 「（刪除）（Psilocine）併入第三級 第 321 項」. The model: the four grades and their anchor substances are in the Act itself, article 2(2) reading 「毒品依其成癮性、濫用性及對社會危害性，分為四級，其品項如下」, and the full item lists are the Act's own four schedules, 附表一 to 附表四. The power to change them is delegated. Article 2(3) reads 「前項毒品之分級及品項，由法務部會同衛生福利部組成審議委員會，每三個月定期檢討，審議委員會並得將具有成癮性、濫用性、對社會危害性之虞之麻醉藥品與其製品、影響精神物質與其製品及與該等藥品、物質或製品具有類似化學結構之物質進行審議，並經審議通過後，報由行政院公告調整、增減之，並送請立法院查照」, a review committee of the justice and health ministries reviewing every three months, adjustment by Executive Yuan announcement, reported to the Legislative Yuan. The Act was last amended 4 May 2022. The list was last amended by the Executive Yuan announcement of 25 June 2026, in force 27 June 2026, which moved etomidate and eight related compounds from Category 2 up to Category 1.

Consequences if caught

Which article applies depends on which member of the class is in hand. Manufacture, transport or sale is article 4(3) at seven years upward for a Category 3 member and article 4(4) at five to twelve years for a Category 4 member. For a Category 2 member it is article 4(2) at life or ten years upward. Simple possession of a Category 3 or Category 4 narcotic is not a crime: article 11-1(2) makes it an administrative fine of NT$10,000 to NT$50,000 plus four to eight hours of drug hazard education, and articles 11(5) and 11(6) turn it criminal at 5 grammes pure weight. Article 9(1) increases the penalty by up to one half where an adult sells to a minor, and article 9(2) does the same where the buyer is known to be pregnant. Article 19 confiscates the property used in an article 4 offence and, for an article 4 offence specifically, the vehicle, vessel or aircraft used. Because a mushroom contains both, a sample can be charged at either tier and article 9(3) applies where two or more graded narcotics are mixed, taking the higher grade and adding up to half again. Capital and life exposure. Neither reaches any Category 3 or Category 4 member of this class, at any quantity. Article 4(3) is seven years upward and article 4(4) is five to twelve years, both fixed term, and the public official aggravation in article 15(1) attaches death or life only to article 4(2) and article 6(1), giving these limbs only 「加重其刑至二分之一」, an increase of up to one half. Any member of the class that is Category 2 is a different answer: it reaches life directly through article 4(2), 「製造、運輸、販賣第二級毒品者，處無期徒刑或十年以上有期徒刑」, and it reaches death through article 15(1) where the offender is a public official abusing office. The tier of the particular compound decides it and the class name decides nothing. One point about the charge rather than the substance: article 9(3) reads 「犯前五條之罪而混合二種以上之毒品者，適用其中最高級別毒品之法定刑，並加重其刑至二分之一」, so an offence involving a mixture is charged at the statutory penalty of the highest grade present, with up to one half added.

If prescribed or medical

Psilocybin is a controlled drug with no accepted medical use in Taiwan and no prescribing route. No psilocybin trial medicine is licensed here.

Documentation

Dried mushrooms, spore prints and grow kits all reach the same entries. There is no quantity of mushroom material that is outside the schedule.

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